Modeling With My Best Friend's Brother
by ELELNeko-kun
Summary: Bella lives with her sister Rosalie, who just got her a job modeling for the famous painter Alice Cullen. She is being forced to model with a man she is forbidden to see. With a body like his, how will she resist? Did I mention it's nude modeling?
1. Job Offer

"Bells, I found you a job!" my half sister Rosalie yelled from our workroom. "You'll never guess who it is!"

"Who?" I asked, coming out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel through my damp hair.

"Alice Cullen saw your picture and wants you as a model! Can you believe it?"

"Wait, Alice _Cullen_? The Alice Cullen wants me to be a model for one of her paintings? Well hot damn!"

"Uh huh! She said here that you can come over tonight and start, she'll give you all the information you want then. Oh, put some clothes on! Please!"

"Oh, come on Rose, we're mature adults, aren't we? We've seen each other in our birthday suits practically everyday. We grew up together, remember? Unless you found out you play for the other team," I teased.

"I like guys, thank you very much. I have way more experience than you anyway, so ha!"

"Yes, you've had your first kiss. Bravo," I said sarcastically, walking into my room to put on some clothes.

"Thanks. Oh, and you should know that our window was open and Eric saw everything you have to offer."

"Yeah, I noticed. He collapsed as soon as I turned around. I don't really care. Maybe he had a heart attack and died."

"Ooh, you are so bad, Bella."

"Not nearly as much as you, Rose."

"Sure," she drawled out. "How's the pickin's?"

"Oh, hush. You know I need to go shopping, even if I do hate it. But, can't do it tonight!"

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that before we went shopping!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the desk. "You suck, Bella."

"Hey," I snapped, coming back out, top in hand, glaring. "It was your idea. All I did was come out of the shower."

Rose stood and started pacing around the brightly lit orange painted room. Each room of our apartment was painted a different color. Rose's room was red, mine was teal, and the guest bedroom was green. The kitchen was yellow, the living room was purple, and the bathroom was a pale blue. Our entryway was pink and white; the studio was all white with a set of black doors that led to a closet filled with our photography equipment. It was colorful. Like us. We loved color.

Rose had two jobs, one, as a mechanic, and two, as a professional photographer. I had two jobs, one, as a professional model, and two, as a professional actress. We had lived together in this flat ever since my parents kicked us out of the house. Rose is a year older than me, her mother, Renee, married my father, Charlie, after her husband, Phil, died in a car accident. Then I came along, the biggest klutz in history. I'm twenty, and have been to the emergency room at least twice as many times. The worst was probably when I fell through a second story window after tripping down a flight of stairs. I finally wrapped the towel around my body, rolling my eyes when I saw the guy across the street take a deep breath and turn away. I picked up a rubber band and a marble and opened my own window. Rose was leaning against my doorframe, smirking.

"Getting back at the nerd for being a peeping tom?"

"Yep. Come to enjoy the show?"

"Definitely," she said gleefully. "I've never been able to turn him off like you can. And you're the one who turned him on in the first place."

"You just have to do something that makes him need to spend money outside of his carefully planned budget," I said, stretching the rubber band and taking aim. "A crack in his window ought to do it." I let go and watched the marble whiz across the alleyway, and smiled in satisfaction when I heard the telltale tinkling of shattered glass. "There we go." I saw Eric run into the room and put on my best horrified face as I stared at him. And I didn't have to try too hard, seeing as he wasn't wearing a shirt. And his tan lines were awful, going from pale to pasty in a single, terrifying line. I dropped to the floor of the apartment and gagged at Rose, who was laughing hysterically, albeit quietly.

"Oh, Bella, that is so great. You are pure evil," she cackled.

"Nah, not evil, just insanely independent. I need to take care of myself sometimes, and that means being able to stand up to jerks who want me for my body."

"There is nothing wrong with your body."

"That's what she said," I snickered. Rose glared at me.

"If the guy was hot enough, I wouldn't care that he loved my body."

"I wouldn't care if he loved it, I just don't want him to want me only for my body. I want to be able to have conversations with him, eye to eye, not eye to chest. Comprende?"

"Si, senorita. I understand. And that's true," she mused. "I wouldn't want I guy that I couldn't talk to, that would suck. Plus, he has to make me laugh my self out of my pouts," she said, imitating.

"Very nice, Rose," I laughed. "The men have always been partial to your pouts."

"True, true. Don't you think its safe to get up now?" she asked from her position out of sight against the door frame. "He left a few minutes ago, probably out buying a new window."

"Or coming over here," I muttered, loud enough for Rose to hear. The doorbell rang. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" I screamed, scaring Rose so bad that she fell over, landing on her butt on the hard wooden floor.

"Now you've done it, Bella!" she screamed back. "I'll have bruises for a week! What if _I_ get a job, huh? I will have bruises!" I laughed silently, tears streaming down my face. I winked and rearranged it into a mask of sorrow and went to the door. I opened it and saw three men in my doorway, one without a shirt, and two others who were staring at my lack of a top, which I had dropped in the incident at the window. My black metallic bra gleamed subtly in the light from the florescent bubs of the hallway. I sniffed pathetically, adding to the effect of the screaming.

"What do _you_ want?" I asked in a dull, watery tone. "I have a couple problems to sort out, right now, so if you'll excuse me," I sniffed again, moving backwards to close the door, "I should probably go."

"Are you sure we can't help you with anything?" a young blonde haired, blue eyed man asked. "I can talk the other woman, if you want."

"Rosalie doesn't want to talk," I said. The next man, a brown head filled with dreads spoke up.

"Why would that matter if she was bothering you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Maybe because she's my sister," I snarled, slamming the door in their faces. Rose was there, choking on the couch.

"You- ha, can't- stop- sister, help-" she broke off, wheezing. I chuckled with her.

"So, when was I supposed to meet Alice? And where?" I asked as Rose breathed deeply, trying to control herself. When she could breathe normally, she sat up and wiped her eyes, before looking at me solemnly. "You are meeting _the_ Alice Cullen at her house a few miles away from here. At six, I think. Or was it five? Go check," she ordered, pointing to the computer. "I am not your secretary, remember?"

"Yeah, sure. I can't stand secretaries anyway," I muttered, thinking back to the one I had for two weeks. She thought she was so much better than me, and told me almost everyday that I should dye my hair blonde because people like blonde models better. Ha. She wasn't even a model. She just thought she was. She was ugly anyway. Okay, I know I shouldn't judge, but she was a slut and a whore. I swear I saw her on a corner one night after I came home from a job.

"Ooh, I know," she cackled. "Lauren was a toe rag. But if you want food, you'd better eat something before you go. This address is a while out of town."

"I can't eat," I whined. "I'm afraid I'll puke if I do."

"And you'll fain if you don't," she teased.

"Rose," I moaned. "That was one time, after I had the flu for a week. It was no wonder I couldn't stand like he wanted me to!" The old bat had wanted me to stand on one foot on a pedestal so I looked like a stone angel or something. My balance isn't all that great on flat, steady, immoveable surfaces, let alone on a small, rocking, four-and-a-half-feet-above-the-ground cylinder. Grr.


	2. Strip, She Said

"Hi, are you Bella? You must be, you're beautiful, just like your picture. I have some things I want to talk to you about before we start, and if you still want to model for me after we get done, then we'll get started, but if you don't that's okay, but I really hope you do, because I think you're perfect-"

"Um, hello"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to, um, start now?"

"Here?"

"Or wherever."

"I like you. Good answer. Follow me." I followed Alice up the stairs, trying not to trip up the giant staircase and embarrass myself horribly. We passed numerous rooms, went through many hallways, and around so many more corners, I was completely lost. Hopelessly so. I hoped that she would get me out, because I wouldn't last two minutes before breaking down, screaming, and going crazy. "Here we are!" Wait a minute.

"We're back where we started."

"Uh huh! You picked up on that, good. You passed the first test!"

"Test? That was a test?"

"Oh, yeah, you're the first to pass, which means you get a shot at actually modeling for me!" This little pixie sure was perky.

"So, how many others have you interviewed?" I asked coolly, ready to walk out the door if I was last on the list of many.

"Only three, but I knew that you were the one as soon as I saw you. You are perfect for the part, I can see it. Plus, you passed the first three tests."

"There were three?" I asked, alarmed.

"Well, four, actually," Alice replied. "The first was looks. You had to match well with my other model. Pass. Personality. I first met you and was blown away. Pass. The observational test, you can't be ditzy if you mode for me. Pass. And four, you act like yourself- you didn't suck up to me and stay quiet while I talked- you even interrupted me! That's good."

"So, should I do that often?"

"Sarcasm! Humor! Pass!"

"I guess I should stop being surprised at all these tests, shouldn't I?"

"Probably," she laughed. "Let's go, you're ready." She flung open the door and shoved me in. It was still dark. An arm came around my waist and I freaked, throwing my elbow back like my dad had taught me to. A surprised yelp followed and I was immediately released. I turned as the light was turned on, and I heard Alice laughing as well as saw a giant young man bent over with his hand on his chest. "Ha! You passed!"

"I almost had a heart attack," I complained, adrenaline pumping through my veins like an electric current.

"I think you bruised my sternum," the young man wheezed.

"Well, that's your own fault, isn't it? I only acted in self-defense." I crossed my arms and glared at him. He raised an eyebrow and rose to his full height, towering over my much shorter frame. "Aren't you going to apologize?" I asked, quirking a brow. He just stared at me before bursting into laughter.

"You pass," he said. "I like you. You can call me Emmett." His voice was deep, but it had an edge of softness to it, like you couldn't trust what you saw- he was a big softie.

"Okay, Em, you can leave, now. I want to talk to her. Just talk," she said, grinning at me. "I promise.: He left, and she directed me towards a red velvet covered Victorian era chair. I sat. "Okay, so you know that I paint, right?" I rolled my eyes and nodded. "So, you can sit or stand in one position for a long time, right?" I nodded again. "Good. So, what I really wanted to talk to you about is if you would be comfortable posing nude for my romance series. Some of it will be innocent, but a lot of it won't." She looked at me imploringly.

"I understand."

"There are a couple of conditions, though. They are- one: once a painting is started, you have to see it through. Two: If you are uncomfortable with a pose, tell me, and I'll see what I can do. Three: if the other model makes you uncomfortable, your code word is Holliday. Four: you cannot look at the person you are modeling with. If you do, you will be fired, and all portraits of you destroyed. Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah. A couple of questions, though. One, will it be a guy or a girl that I will be modeling with? Because I don't want a girl, particularly, but I'll take it if I have to."

"Nope. He's a guy. A good looking guy. He's young, too, probably just a little older than you, so it's not like its gross or anything."

"Okay, but how about times? Or a schedule or something?" I needed to know when I would be free, after all.

"I'll call you and see if you can come in. This is all casual- sort of. It isn't really formal, or anything."

"So- since I can't look at him, does that mean we aren't going to be looking at each other in any of your pieces. It seems kind of strange that lovers won't look at each other."

"Well, you'll be facing each other for a few of them, but you won't bee looking at him. Is that all?" Alice asked, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Yeah, no more question. What now?"

" I wanted to start a piece- a place to begin this epic saga. Would you be against stripping?"

"When you put it that way, yes. If you asked if I would worry about discarding my clothes and posing, no," I chuckled, standing. "Where do you want me?"

"Strip," she commanded, pulling the chair away. I watched as she set it up in front of the fireplace, angling it towards her. I did as she told me. "Okay, come here and drape yourself over the chair. One leg over this arm, the other out in front of you. Rest your cheek on your fist, tilt it, yes, like that. Rest your other hand on your knee, like that." She pulled back. "You are gorgeous. Put a tired smile on and look sort of happy. You are a goddess, Bella."

"Thanks," I muttered, through my tired but happy smile.

"No problem. Stay looking here, and here we go!" An hour later I stood up on direction from Alice and stretched, stiff from my state of absolute stillness. "Wow, Bella, you must have practiced a whole lot, you only moved, like, twice! It was great, because I didn't have to stop!"

"Thanks. Can I dress myself again?" I asked, pointing at my clothes. "I love my body and all, but I don't think I feel quite comfortable walking around someone else's house naked." She laughed.

"Not quite. Here's a robe," she said, tossing the garment to me. "I want another one, this time with you standing, but we're going to the kitchen to get you food. You are hungry, right?"

"Heck yes," I sighed. "But just so you know, I'm a girl with a big appetite."

"That's good, because when my brother cooks, he always makes more than what is needed."

"What's cookin'?" I joked. She giggled.

"Hamburgers, fries- in wedges- and chocolate cake," she said happily. "This is the best chocolate cake that you will ever eat," she assured me.

"Mmmm…" I sighed, breathing in the intoxicating smell. "It smells delicious."

"Tell that to Edward," Alice said, elbowing me. I finally took stock of the gigantic kitchen, and the god in the center of it. I was immediately reminded of how short the robe was, but made no move to pull it down. After watching me, Alice smiled. "Edward, this is Bella. She's modeling for my new, up and coming romance series." He was wearing a pair of black silk pajama pants and a black muscle tank. I almost drooled. But I sucked in a much needed breath and made to speak.

"Hello, Edward," I said, admiring the way his name rolled off my tongue. He just smiled slightly.

"Edward doesn't speak to people who can't speak to him," Alice said, glaring at her brother, who gave her a cheeky smile and a wave.

"Say what?" I asked, crossing my arms, inadvertently hitching the robe higher, leaving only about an inch from the hem to my more private area. Not that they were going to be private for very much longer if this whole romance series actually came to fruition.

"Sign language," she spat. I raised a brow at him and signed off.

_Hello, Edward._ He looked surprised, turning to his sister, who watched me with disbelief.

_Hello, Bella,_ he signed back. I had no clue what to say now, so I told him so. He smiled the most beautiful crooked grin, that made my knees go weak and my breath catch. _You are different than the other girls._

_Of course I am,_ I signed, glaring. His face was tense. _I am __me__, not any of the other girls._ He smiled again and shook his head.

_One of a kind._ I smiled back and he directed me out a door that lead to a patio that held an industrial grill, a table and chairs, a couple of lounge chairs, a fire pit, and a walkway to a giant pool. He escorted me to a chair and pulled it out for me, then pushed it in when I was seated. Alice sat across from me with a blond man, and Emmett sat next to him. Edward came over with plates and delivered them before sitting down and letting Alice speak.

"Bella, this is my boyfriend, Jasper. He runs my exhibits. Jasper, this is Bella, the model I told you about for my romance series."

"Hello," he said, nodding to me. "I hope that she doesn't give you too much trouble. This pixie's perky." I burst into giggles at his statement that mirrored my own thoughts from earlier. Jasper just looked confused.

"That is exactly what I thought when I first met her." H chuckled too. We ate in companionable silence, me managing two burgers and two handfuls of fries, giving Emmett a run for his money.

"I told you that she said she could eat, Emmy," Alice sang, mocking him. Until the cake was down. I ate two pieces of that as well, telling Alice that I would work it off when I got home. "Don't worry, I trust you. But right now, we've got one more for today. Ready?"

"Sure, I said, standing. "Did you want help with the dishes?"

"Nah. Jazzy and Emmy get the dishes. Let's go."


	3. Matchmaking Plans

We went back up to the room where the Victorian chair was, but Alice pulled me insistently towards another corner, where there was a giant gray marble throne sitting with a single golden candle stand next to it. "Okay, I want you to sit on the floor to the right of it- no, my right, yes. Okay. Now look here. Anthony is coming in behind you, so close your eyes and don't look. I felt a warm, naked body sitting down in the chair and heard a hiss as the cool marble came in contact with his skin. I let out a little giggle.

"Think that's funny, do you?" came a velvet voice in my ear, before two smooth hands pulled my shoulders back and pressed them to the stone. My nipples and other sensory nerves were the only things that reacted, making this Anthony character chuckle. "How does that feel?"

"Cold," I answered quietly, face flushed as he breathed down on me.

"Now that you two are settled, Bella, adjust yourself around him so you are comfortable." I slid over and sat with his firmly planted ankle in the crease of my knee, the other folded neatly over my center, one arm resting on my knee, the other I leaned on behind me. I rested my head on his knee. "Beautiful!" Alice cried. "Okay, Tony, put a hand on her hair, like that, and lean on the arm. You two are perfect. Now hold still." We sat still for close to two hours this time, and Alice said that there was a lot more to do with this painting than in the first one we did. I managed, barely. Anthony was tracing circles softly on the skin of the back of my neck with his thumb, driving me crazy- in a good way. When we were done, I closed my eyes and he stood, leaving, with just Alice and I left in the room.

"How many more am I sitting through?" I asked, stretching out on the floor.

"Today? None. For the exhibition, a ton more. I have so may ideas! And if you have any ideas, just tell me, and I will see if we can do it."

"I have many, many ideas, but not very many of them are innocent. I'll wait until I'm more comfortable with him before I suggest anything, okay?"

"Ooh, I'm excited now. So I take it you want to ease into your role as model?" she laughed, throwing me my clothes.

"Urg, I can't move…" I groaned, throwing my arm over my eyes.

"You might want to. I'll call the guys in if you don't!" I bolted up and was dressed in under a minute, my orange t-shirt just being pulled down when the door burst open. The three boys were standing in the doorway. I glared at them, hands on my hips.

"Ha. I win. Bye bye, Alice," I said, walking out the door. "Call me when you want me next, you've got my number." _You're all idiots_, I signed. Edward, being the only one who understood, glared at me as I left. I waved cheekily on the way out and got into my giant red ancient Chevy truck. It roared and I pulled backwards out of the long drive. "Losers," I muttered, smiling up at the house before it was out of sight. Once I got back to our flat, I dropped my keys in the basket by the door and flipped the lock. Walking through the hallway, I threw my sweatshirt on the couch in the living room and made my way to the fridge. After pulling out a pitcher of lemonade, I poured two glasses and made my way to Rose's studio. She was setting up for a photo shoot she had later, and was cleaning up from the one she just got finished with. I leaned on the doorframe and watched her bustle around. She turned and shrieked.

"I'm home," I stated, smirking, setting one of the glasses on her desk. "And it was great."

"Ooh, really? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Couch, now," she commanded. She grabbed her drink and pushed me out, settling comfortably on the couch, tucking her legs under her. "Spill. I want to know everything." So I spent the next hour telling her about my portrait sitting. Including the sexy man who made the most amazing cheeseburgers. And Rose knows how much I love a good burger. "What does he look like? For God's sake, what does he _cook_ like?!"

"He had the most amazing hair- bronze and unruly. But, god, so sexy-"

"Bet you just wanted to run your fingers through it, didn't you?" Rose teased, making me blush.

"Hell yes. And he green eyes- the greenest. I swear they were emeralds implanted in his eye sockets-"

"That's a really gross comparison, Bella."

"Do you want me to finish, or not?" I snapped. She went silent, and I continued. "Really, I almost died when I started eating. He speaks sign language-"

"You don't _speak _sign language," snickered my half sister. I glared at her and moved to stand, but she tackled me onto the couch. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, you can't stop now!"

"One more interruption, and I am never telling you anything else about him." She nodded. "Fine. He _knows_ sign language, but I know he can both hear and speak. He saw me in a robe Alice got me. It was really silky and short, but I managed not to freak when I saw him. But I did almost pass out."

"He sounds really nice. I wish I could meet a hot guy doing what I love for big money," she sighed. "He has to be big and strong with perfect blue eyes and dark, curly hair…" That sounded familiar.

"I'll see what I can do. I met another guy, he's funny, and I think you'll like him.  
"Wait, you _met_ a guy?"

"Is that a problem?" I snapped, glaring out the window, where Eric was directing men carrying a window. "Just because I'm not as beautiful as you-"

"Hold it!" she yelled, startling the moving men across the way. " You are gorgeous! You don't see yourself clearly. If you could see what others do, you would be amazed. I was just- you know… happy for you. You never say yes to the guys who ask you out-"

"Because they are all morons!"

"Well, yes, but a couple of them are highly eligible and marginally attractive men. Lesser women would have fallen for their charms way before you would, little sister. It goes to show how much more you deserve."

"Thanks," I said, glancing down at my hands. "I think I want to shower, now. Actually, I don't. I want to think. Let me alone and I'll get back to you." I stood and went to my bedroom, throwing myself on my bed and squealed into my pillow, thinking of Edward, before I thought of Anthony, and how I wasn't allowed to see him, and screamed.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Rose, sticking her head in around my door.

"I'm frustrated," I muttered before reacquainting my face with my pillow. Anthony. Edward, Anthony, Cullen. Alice. Cullen. Edward. Edward Anthony. Dear God, that can't be right.

Three days later, I got a call from Alice, telling me that I was needed for another sitting. Which is how I found myself twenty minutes later in a headlock by the man that my roommate and half sister had described as the perfect man- down to a 'T'. He pulled me inside and I struggled weakly, not knowing what would happen if I actually got away.

"Glad you're here, Windchime, Ed's been moping around the house for the past three days."

"Windchime?" I choked out.

"Yeah. Bella, Bells, Windchime. It's all the same thing. But, yeah. You should go do your hand thing with him. It's not actually talking, so I can't say 'go talk to him', but you get the drift. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you, I haven't seen him that happy since he got his dream car when he was sixteen. But if you ask me, a girl is better than a car, so he's happy-"

"Let me go," I muttered, digging my nails into his arm. "You want a girl, I can give you one."

"Sorry, Bella, you're not my type." I felt my face contracting in horror.

"Not me, Emmett!"

"So, you're saying you can find me a girl?" he asked, finally letting go abruptly, letting me fall flat on my face.

"Ow."

"Shit! Are you okay? Alice will ill me if you got hurt."  
"I'm fine, but the girl comes at a price," I warned.

"Oh, really?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, can you handle extreme bitchiness?"

"Yes."

"Major sweetness?"

"Yeah."

"Big breasts and blond?"

"Hell yeah."

"A model?"

"Sure."

"Photographer?"

"Like me!"

"Mechanic?"

"Are you sure this chic's real? She sounds like something out of my imagination. The only thing that would make her better would be blue eyes and red lips."

"That's her!" I smiled.

"Are you serious? 'Cause if you're shitting me, I gonna kill you, no matter what my sister tells me to do."

"I'm not. You wanna hear my price?"

"You mean the bitchiness wasn't it?"

"Nope!" I grinned. "You looked like the kind of guy that liked that, so I told you. My price is that, a) no more assaulting me b) you treat her right c) you work with both of us when we need it."

"Work with you?" he asked, looking wary.

"Yeah, we're professionals, so we work with professionals. I don't just sit for portraits, I do fashion photography and other stuff. So, can you pay it?"

"Depends on when I can meet her. The sooner I do, the sooner you are hassle free."

"Well, whenever I need a ride, you can have her. I haven't told her exactly told her I know you, I just thought that you two would get along. I'd better get going before Alice comes to fetch me. See ya, Emmybear!" I called, running up the stairs. I went to the same room a before, knocking before I went in.

"Get your pretty little behind in here, sweetheart!" We're starting with another singles portrait. I have a couple of ideas I want to get done today, so you might be later than I thought."

"Anytime you send me home is when I think I am leaving. Let's get started."


	4. You Can Borrow Confidence?

"Have I told you I love you, Bella?"

"I don't swing that way, Alice," I teased. "And I happen to know a handsome blond man who would be heartbroken to know you did."

"Hush you. Okay, drop the clothes and stand in front of the window. Wrap your arms around yourself loosely and turn so you are perpendicular to the window. I want you looking out in longing." I positioned myself like she told me to, but she still wasn't satisfied. I could tell by her expression. "There's something off about it," she muttered, stalking around me. Her tiny face lit up as she jumped and undid the clip holding my hair up, letting it cascade messily down my back, some of it falling over my shoulder. "Perfect," she breathed, bouncing back to her easel. "Now stay."

This took longer than my fist solo painting, but not quite as long as the one with Anthony, my mystery man. When she was 'done with the layer', she let me sit in the Victorian chair so she could finish that. Now that I was more comfortable- it no being my first time and all- I felt a sort of prescence near my head behind the chair. It was peaceful. I was getting tired, I let my eyes slide shut, until I was rudely awakened by the little pixie. I groaned.

"Sorry, the sun was too much. It made me feel all warm and fuzz." I stretched and realized I wasn't on the chair anymore, but on a bed with deep red sheets. A fur throw was draped around me. "What happened?" I asked, holding the throw close to me.

"You fell asleep and I was struck with another idea. I needed you asleep for it, so I had Edward move you to the bed."

"Your brother saw me naked!?"

"So? He's seen me naked."

"Geeze, Alice, you're related! This is different! _Way_ different!"

"Bella, we've known each other for- what- five-"

"Six."

"Right, six years, keeping it a secret from our siblings. It's time you grew up. Plus, he likes you."

"Who?" I asked. Alice slapped herself in the forehead.

"My little brother Edward, of course! He's making chicken sandwiches right now- for lunch. He's grilling right now, actually. I hope you're hungry, because as long as you eat, he'll go overboard on the cooking. He's been watching the Food Network for the past three days. It's kind of funny, since the last time he watched it, it was the Mother's Day Special that he made for Esme. That turned out fine, but this smells a lot better." She turned and threw me the robe and a pair of matching panties. "I picked those up for you after seeing how short the robe was on you. Let's go, I'm hungry."

"How long did I sleep?" I asked, running down the hallway to catch up with my _lovely _little friend.

"About four hours. It's one fifteen now. I wanted to finish the bed picture because I wouldn't be able to get you perfect again."

"Will I be able to see it?" We were down the stairs and heading for the kitchen.

"Nope. Not until it's hanging on the wall at the exhibition, and you and Anthony come to see them at the opening. You will be blown away." We were in the kitchen and I sniffed, smelling delectable chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and cheese sauce. I only vaguely noticed that I had moved to the stove where the sauce was simmering. Oh, yummy. Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I blushed when I turned.

_Hello_, I signed.

_Would you like some?_

_Yes, please_, I responded. _It smells delicious._

_Thank you. I'll bring a plate out._

_Oh, no! You don't have to do that_, I said, looking him in the eye as I did so. He smiled a heartbreaking smile.

_But I want to. Go relax._

_I've gotten enough of that, I think_, I replied, giving him a light glare to which he looked down sheepishly.

_Yes, well, I was being polite, and I __**will**__ bring you a plate. Go sit down. Now_, he commanded. I rolled my eyes and moved to sit down, catching Emmett and Alice running to their chairs.

"We didn't say anything," I smirked. They pouted.

"We know you didn't actually _say_ anything," Alice said. "But we still want to know what you said." At that moment, Edward came out and set a plate in front of me before sitting himself down next to me.

"Where's mine?" whined Emmett. I chuckled as I signed to Edward.

_Is he always like this?_

_No_, he responded. _Usually he's worse._ I grimaced and looked at Emmett before shuddering in an exaggerated fashion. _Exactly. Tell him his food is in the kitchen._

"Your food is in the kitchen," I relayed. "And you're supposed to get it yourself- along with the pitcher of lemonade."

"Nuh uh!" he exclaimed. "If I have to get up, I'm getting my food. No one else's."

"Then you won't be meeting my friend," I replied smugly, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"You are too confident for this job."

"Nonsense. I am a model, currently a nude model. I need all the self-confidence I can get. I'm even willing to borrow if need be," I said, face serious.

"You can borrow confidence?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "You didn't know? Oh, you poor thing, how have you survived?" I must applaud myself on my acting skills. And Rose said I had no talent. I had fake sympathetic tears in my eyes. I was just too good.

"I… I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know!"

"I am almost certain that I can help you," I said soothingly as I reached across the table to lay my hand on top of his. "I _will_ teach you how to properly borrow confidence. How does that sound, hm, Emmybear?"

"Please, help me!" he cried. I was sorry for him. Utterly and completely sorry. Sorry that he was a moron, that is.

"I can. When do you want to have the first lesson?"

"Now?" he asked hopefully. I looked at Alice, who was trying to stifle her laughter. She flapped a hand at me, and I nodded at Emmett. He stood quickly, ran around the table, and pulled me away, my robe not covering my lower half until I pulled it down. But not before the two at the table had a good eyeful. We went up the staircase and down another hallway before stopping at a door, which Emmett opened and dragged me into. "What do I need to do?"

"First, I said, sitting in his desk chair. "Sit cross legged on the floor, and relax. Are you relaxed?" He nodded. "Good. Breathe in and out. Breathe in, count to two, breathe out, count to two. Breathe in, breathe out. Keep going until you are completely relaxed. When you are lean back and uncross your legs." eight minutes later, he did. "Perfect. Now, fold your hands over your stomach. Keep breathing. Now, picture a person. One real person that you have a connection with. Do you have them?" He nodded. "Now, picture them happy. Can you do that?" He nodded a few minutes later, smiling. "Now, reach out your hands like you want to hug them. Reach, and keep breathing." He reached, stretching his huge arms out to hug whichever person he thought of. "Wonderful. Now, imagine them glowing, or sparkling. Done? That is their confidence showing itself to you. Do you see it that way?" He nodded once again. "Now, hug that person. Squeeze, hard. Absorb the confidence. Take the glow into yourself. Breathe, relax. Let the glow of confidence overtake you. Relax. Breathe in, breathe out. slowly, let go. Let your arms fall, gently. Are you confident?" He nodded lazily. "I asked if you were confident! Are you confident?"

"Yes," he said.

"What?"

"Yes, I am confident!" he yelled, sitting up. "I am Emmett! I am confident I will rule!"

Wonderful job, Emmett. Congratulations, you are my best student yet. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great! Thank you Windchime! You are the bestest, most perfectest, wonderfulest, and lovelyestest art model my sister has ever had!" he boomed, picking me up and easily pulling me around so I was behind him. He lifted me and pulled my legs to wrap around his waist as I locked my arms around his neck, giving out a shriek.

"Put me down, now!" I yelled. He didn't. "Emmybear, if you don't, I'll call _her_ and tell her not to come!"

"How are you going to get home, then?" he challenged.

"Edward will drive me home!" I said laughing.

"Yeah, right. He doesn't allow anyone in his car."

"Oh yeah? What if I can get him to give me a ride? Will you stop harassing me?" I asked.

"No. Once I meet this dream girl that you've been promising me for months, I will. But not before." He took off all of a sudden, running down the hallway and jumping from landing to landing on the stairs.

"That is it!" I screamed. "You are never meeting her!" He stopped suddenly, disconnecting my appendages, and dropping me. I closed my eyes as I prepared for impact on the hard marble stairs, but a pair of arms wrapped around me and kept me on my feet, mostly. A pair of hands appeared in front of my face.

_Are you alright?_

_I am now_, I replied. _And thank you._

_No problem. I don't mind catching you._

_I fall a lot._

_I will try and be there._

_Why?_

"Come on, Bella, we've got paintings to finish!" Alice cried, grabbing onto me and yanking me out of Edward's arms, pulling me back up the stairs. I managed to wave to Edward before Alice shoved me into her room. "We've got a couple more to go." She pushed me back towards the fireplace. "Strip and lay on you stomach on the rug." I did as I was told. The rug was made of white fur, which was extremely soft and comfortable. "Now, close your eyes so Anthony can come in." I did so, and had to keep my eyes from flashing open as a warm, muscled body gently lowered itself to lay on my back. "Okay, Bella, cross your arms under your head and face me. Anthony, slide your arms under hers, and put your head on her shoulder. And for goodness sake, drop your weight. She can handle it- and don't give me that look." The young man's full body weight pressed against me, and I sighed.

"Am I hurting you?" came the velvet voice, quietly.

"No," I breathed back.

"How does it feel?"

"Comforting," I replied. "Safe." We spoke no more for another two hours, when Alice told us we were done, but that I couldn't open my eyes. I yelped as a pair of arms lifted me up and carried me across the room, before we were turned, and I was lowered onto a very naked, very _manly_ lap. Alice told me to curl into Anthony, and I buried my head in his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist, my feet tucked under his arm, which was wrapped around my knees. His other arm was wrapped around my upper torso, his fingers teasing the bottom of my breast. I took a sharp breath, and I heard him chuckle under his breath. He felt so good and warm. I breathed him in and almost drowned in his scent, it was so heavenly. "You smell good," I muttered. I felt his chest rumble, and it evoked strange reactions in my core.

"You two are great!" Alice exclaimed, breaking us out of out haze-like trance. "You look so natural together!"

"Alice," I moaned. "Don't make me blush."

"But you look so cute when you do!"

"I don't want to be cute," I whined into Anthony's chest. "I would prefer to be called beautiful, or sexy."

"You are both," Anthony's voice said, his hot breath caressing the shell of my ear, making me shiver, which brought forth a reaction from him, down south. "You are gorgeous." I still had my eyes closed, but I could tell that he was only inches away from my face. "_That_ should tell you that I am being truthful." I smiled slightly, blushing to think that _I_ did that to him.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"There is no need to thank me for stating a fact," he replied. "I should be thanking you for trusting me."

"You haven't done anything to warrant that I shouldn't. And plus, you seem like a nice guy."

"Do I look like a nice guy as well?" he teased. I elbowed him in the ribs, mock scowling.

"I wouldn't know, would I?"

"I should hope not," Alice snapped. "If you had, you know what happens. And than I wouldn't be happy. Remember?"

"Yes, Alice," I sighed. "I remember. Oh, hey, can Edward drive me home? I need to torture Emmett." I felt a slight shifting before Alice replied.

"Yeah, he'll drive you home. He likes you a lot."

"Alice, there is no way he could like me like that, there is nothing special about me, plus he is so out of my league."

"You seem to know Alice very well."

"I've known her for a few years-"

"And you shouldn't say things like that. Do you like him?"

"This is rather embarrassing," I said into Anthony's chest. "But yes, I do. I don't know why, exactly, but he- gets me- I guess."

"You are absolutely right. But you should try talking to him. But- oh, hey! I forgot! You aren't going home tonight! You're having a sleepover with me!"

"Really? Oh, joy. Do I actually get to sleep?"

"No. I have a few more scenes worked out. Are you comfortable after a few months?"

"I don't know, no offense to you," I muttered to Anthony. He snorted lightly.

"Would you be more comfortable with my brother?"

"Which brother?"

"The one you like. Duh. You like him, he likes you, so there."

"I don't know. I like him,, but until one of us tells the other, I won't be quite as comfortable. I like spending time with him, but I think I might feel awkward or nervous."

"You've eaten lunch with him four days a week for the past couple months. You can't be _that_ nervous."

"I can hardly breathe. But he never really gets close to me and doesn't touch me unless it's to catch me when I fall," I explained sadly.

"Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "Seriously. And the reason I'm not nervous right now is because I can't see the marvelous body of the yummy smelling man whose lap I am sitting on," I said with a grin.

"Thank you," I guess," Anthony said. "I've never been told that I smell 'yummy' before."

"Well, you do. Are we done, Alice?"

"Almost. Then you get to sit alone while I talk to Anthony. I need to go over a few things with him. Okay, stand up and let Tony go." I tried, really, I did try, but my body rebelled, preferring to stay on his lap.

"I can't. I'm stiff," I moaned. Arms snaked under my chest and lifted me up, then plopped me down on the now empty chair.

"Be good, will you?" Anthony asked. "And don't hurt yourself, please." I held my breath until I heard the door shut, then let it out in a whoosh.

"Dear Lord," I muttered. "I'm falling for two men."


	5. Face to Face

Twenty minutes later Alice came back in, a huge grin on my face- one that made me kind of nervous. "Guess what?"

"You're letting me eat?" I asked sarcastically.

"I'm going to paint you and Anthony eating together!"

"I can barely handle a fork when I can see it, let alone when I have my eyes closed," I pointed out.

"Which is why they will be open," my best friend told me slowly.

"What happened to not seeing the model?"

"Well, he, personally, doesn't care now, but we're going to wait for that. You will sit on one side of the table, he will sit on the other, and there will be a curtain between you two. How does that sound? Nevermind. Let's go!"

"I am not leaving this room naked," I protested. "Give me the robe."

Three hours later, I dragged myself slowly back towards the paint room, where I would be spending the night. I was exhausted. I had run around with Alice and Emmett while Jasper and Edward watched. And running from the bear named Emmett would wear out an Olympic athlete. I was two steps from the top of the staircase when my foot slipped. Too surprised to call out, I was ready to tumble painfully back down the stairs. And I did fall, just not very far, and it was very painless. I fell straight into a pair of muscular arms that I knew from association that they were Tony's. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"You don't want to see me, Bella?" came the soft voice that I had grown to know. "Alice isn't here."

"Which is exactly why I shouldn't. She said not yet, so I will wai-" I was cut off by a soft, warm, pair of lips descending on my own. My eyes almost shot open in surprise, but I shut them tighter and pulled away. "I can't, you heard me earlier."

"Yes, I did. Which is why I couldn't wait any longer. Look at me Bella, please." I shook my head.

"I would love to, but I really like Alice's brother. I am sorry, really, but I need this job."

"Open your eyes, please, please." When I shook my head again, I yelped as he stood, carrying me into the art room. "Alice said it was up to me as to when her model could see me. It is now. Please, let me see your eyes." He kissed me, and again I pulled back.

"Please, don't," I said in a choked voice. "I can't do this, I like you both!" I bolted off the bed we were on and towards the door, opening my eyes when I crossed the threshold. A hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, spinning, eyes open, to look into Edward's face. My eyes widened, and he stared at me intensely. I couldn't speak. Not that I needed to, since he moved to kiss me again. This time, instead of pulling back, I pressed myself into him, tightly, the robe inching up while I didn't care. He'd seen me in much less.

"God damn it, Edward!" Alice bellowed, coming around the corner. "She's practically mooning us!" He grinned, then picked me up and carried me back to the paint room. He dropped me on the bed once again, and Alice stalked in. "Now strip, Bella," she commanded. I blushed. "You haven't ever blushed when I told you to do that," she said slyly.

"Because no one watches me remove my clothes. It's awkward." The little pixie jumped at me and pulled the robe off, the panties down. "Alice!" I squealed.

"Bella," came a soft voice from across the room. I turned to see Edward standing in front of the window, the sunset behind him, the light making his hair glow atop his head. "You are the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth." I blushed. " You're blushing," he pointed out.

"I know. Is that bad?"

"Nothing you do could ever be bad. This just shows that you have some sort of humility," he teased.

"So, should I be more humble?" I asked, reaching for the duvet.

"Don't you dare," he said, suddenly next to me on the bed, grasping my wrists. "Don't you dare change for me. I like you the way you are."

"You like me?"

I don't go around kissing girls I don't like," he said, giving me another. "And how could I not like you? You are gorgeous, lovely, and absolutely stunning. I find myself enchanted by you. That you, an angel, would give a man like me a chance to be with you."

"Be quiet, Edward Cullen. You are magnificent, marvelous, even. I am shocked that someone as perfect as you would want to be with someone as plain and ordinary as me."

"Now you will be silent," he commanded, placing a soft finger on my lips. "You obviously don't see yourself very clearly. You are wonderful, truly wonderful. Do you understand, Bella?" I nodded. "Good. Because if you didn't, I would have to punish you." His eyes glinted.

"Punish me how?" I asked, leaning forward, looking up at him from under my lashes, feeling a dull ache in my stomach.

"Alice is my sister," he smirked, leaning back, "so I should be able to think of something."

"You are incorrigible!" I huffed, turning my head away from him. "Go find Alice- I want this over with."

"Over with?" he asked, raising a brow. "So I suppose it is a hardship to model _nude_ with a _yummy_, _comforting_, _naked_ man, isn't it?"

"Especially when he's making cryptic little remarks meant to keep me up at night," I snapped back.

"Relax, Bella, I was only teasing."

"I'm sick of being teased."

"I'm sorry, Bella, I really am."

"It's not your fault," I said gazing through the window. "It's too many other people's."

"Are you alright?" he asked, lifting a hand and running a single knuckle down my cheek.

"No. I'm broken, Edward. You shouldn't want me. I am scatterbrained and erratic, and I break down a lot, and-" I was cut off- once again- by a pair of lips pressing gently against my own. I broke away and rested my forehead against his, staring deeply into his eyes. I brought a hand up to his neck as both of his rested on my hips, pulling me closer, bunching up the bedding on either side of us. "Edward," I sighed, pressing my lips against his softly.

"Perfect!" came the happy voice of his sister, who had just reentered the room. "Don't move, is that understood? Freeze!"

"This was private," Edward growled, sending a shiver down my spine. "Are you cold?" came his concerned voice. I almost rolled my eyes at the question. Alice did.

"It's just the opposite!" she chirped. "She's probably burning up right about now."

"Alice," I groaned, feeling Edward stiffen.

"There will be no more comments like that, Alice," he said, voice firm, "unless you want all of your portraits destroyed."

"You wouldn't dare," she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"I wouldn't, would I?" he asked softly. "When have I ever gone against my word, sister dear?"

"Never," she mumbled. "But you haven't seen them yet, they're spectacular!" Alice began with long strokes, each one brushing rhythmically against the canvas. My eyes were beginning to droop, but I kept them open, watching Edward as long as possible. A yawn escaped Alice's lips and she smiled guiltily. "Sorry," she said. "Jasper and I had a long night."

"Then go to bed," I whined. "I'm tired, too. And I don't have anywhere to sleep."

"Of course you do!" she chirped. "You can stay with Edward!"

"Really?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Of course," he said, kissing my forehead. "You'll always be welcome."

"Well, goodnight you two!" Alice slammed the door as she rushed to leave, taking the painting with her. Edward and I looked at each other.

"Well then…" I muttered. "Where's your room?"

"Right here," he said, gesturing. "As soon as I saw you, I told Alice that you were my model, and to use my room as her studio."

"So, this is yours?" I asked, pulling on the covers. "I've been in your bed for months?"

"Is that a problem?" he purred.

"No," I replied breathily. "That's fine."

"Would you like to rest now?"

"Actually," I said shyly. "I need a minute." He let me go and I slipped in the robe, making my way down the hall to the bathroom. A towel was on the edge of the long marble counter with a note from Alice that told me to take a shower and relax. I did as I was told and stepped under the steaming spray. Five minutes later I was out, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and relieved myself. Then I wrapped myself in the big fluffy towel and picked up the towel, making my way back to the room. I opened the door and saw my god stretched out on the bed. As I looked him over, I realized how odd our relationship was. We were physical before anything else. I wasn't ready for actual intercourse, but a naked man in be with was absolutely a-ok with me. I want _know_ him before I let him all the way in. He beckoned me over, and I shut the door and threw the robe on a chair before walking over and dropping the towel. His eyes grew hungry as I sat down, but didn't move towards me. I scooted closer and laid my head on his chest. He was tense. "Is there something wrong?"

"Are you okay with all this?" he asked. "I can understand if our modeling is on a different level than this."

"I like this, though," I said, tracing little patterns on his pecs. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've known you forever." His muscles twitched.

"I feel the same," he said, wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing my head. "And I'm glad you do, because Alice is starting her more provocative pieces tomorrow."

"Really?" I asked, moving my fingers lower. "Morning?"

"No," he bit out. "Later." His face was set, and I smiled, dipping into his curls and twining my fingers in them. He hissed a breath through his teeth. "You will b the death of me," he growled as I tugged slightly. I just smiled and let go, bringing my back up to rest on his chest.

"Goodnight, Edward." He laid his hand on top of mine and squeezed gently.

"Goodnight, Bella."


	6. There Will Be NO Threesomes!

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" came Alice's voice loudly from behind the door, the sound of her tiny fists pounding on the wood accompanying it. "Edward, we want food! Bella, we're going shopping with Rose- right, Rose?"

"Yes, Alice!" I yelled. "Go away!" A rumbling laugh came from under my cheek and I cracked an eyelid to look up at Edward's face. I felt the hard chest pressed against mine, and I felt his hands on my ass. It felt amazing, waking up in the arms of my favorite man. I smiled and wiggled back against his hands. "Morning."

"Good morning to you, too," he said, squeezing gently.

"Mmmm…." I moaned softly, pressing farther into his chest. "Again." He did so, and I moaned again.

"You should stop doing that," he murmured against my ear. "I might never let you leave."

"Do you want me to?" I asked, moving to get up. He locked his arms around my waist and growled lowly at me. "Well, too bad. We need to get up anyway. You, Jasper, and Emmett are coming with us."

"Since when?" he asked, astonished.

"Since I decided that Rose and Emmett are finally getting together and that I wanted you with me." He smiled and sat up, pulling me into his lap and giving me a kiss. I opened my mouth for him and he slid his hot, velvety tongue into my mouth, completely taking over all of my senses. I slipped my hands up his back, over his shoulders, around his neck, and into his silky bronze hair, tugging gently.

"_Now_, Bella! Or else I am coming in there and ripping you two apart!" screeched Alice. I didn't actually think she'd do it- she was happy for me- but I wouldn't take the risk. We pulled away from each other, sighing.

"Guess I have to get dressed now, don't I?" I asked mournfully. I always felt beautiful when I was with Edward, especially when I was naked. He nodded, standing. I drank all of him in greedily, while he did the same to me. I could tell, because I felt his eyes, burning like his touch, across my body.

"Unfortunately," he murmured, moving forward and kissing my forehead. "But you look good either way. You always look stunning."

"Thanks," I blushed. "Hey, Edward?" he turned to me. "Can I borrow some clothes?" He grinned and made his way over to his dresser in the corner and pulled out a pair of boxers, a sweatshirt, and a wife beater. I took them after thanking him, and moved back to the pile of clothes I had worn the previous day. I pulled on my electric blue panty set, then followed with the boxers, wife beater, and the black and red checkered zip-up. I turned to see a very naked, very _alert_ Edward standing frozen, watching me. I smiled and spun in a circle. "How do I look?"

"Bloody fantastic," he breathed, eyes still glued to me. I blushed lightly.

"What?"

"You look even better in my clothes than I do." I laughed. Loudly.

"Yeah, right. I can't pull off your shirts, pants, or anything like you can," I contradicted. "I don't have the body type or muscles to do that." He smiled.

"And I'm glad you don't," he said, skimming his fingers lightly over my waist, squeezing gently. "I like you better this way."

"Mmm… I do, too," I said, ghosting my fingers over his biceps, pecs, and abs, making him shiver. "I don't think I'd like you half as much if you had my body."

"I happen to like that body," he teased.

"But you wouldn't want it, would you?" I teased back.

"Oh, I want it. Never doubt that," he said sensually. He groaned suddenly and turned away. "You should probably go find Alice and leave me be, or I'll never get anything done." I smiled and left quickly, sprinting down the hall to the kitchen. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were sitting at the island. They looked up and Emmett grinned.

"God yourself an Eddie, did you?"

"Nope!" I replied happily, popping my 'p'.

"You didn't?" Alice asked, surprised. "I thought for sure you had, since he gave you his clothes."

"Just because I am wearing his clothes doesn't mean I slept with him. Even though I did," I smirked.

"You just said you didn't!" Emmett cried. Jasper was laughing, and I went to go sit by him, pulling up a stool. "What happened?"

"It all depends on your take of the word 'sleeping'," Jasper said. "And your mind automatically went to the gutter."

"Well, yeah!"

"You'll like Rose, then. She practically lives there," I said, grinning. "She's been trying to get me to loosen up for years. You're coming to meet her by the way," I said nonchalantly.

"Yes!" he bellowed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Good morning," interrupted Edward, coming into the kitchen wearing a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a Batman t-shirt. I giggled. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Why'd I ask you?"

"How should I know?"

"You shouldn't."

"Exactly."

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing."

"What were we talking about?"

"I'm not going to tell you. What's for breakfast? I'm hungry."

"Pancakes, if that's alright with you."

"I love pancakes. That'll be fine, Edward, thanks," I said, smiling at him happily. He grinned in response and turned to the griddle.

"You two are kinda cute together," Emmett said, grinning. "I'm so glad my little brother found a girl he likes!" I picked up his fork and stabbed him in the arm with it. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For unnecessary chatter," I sniffed, making Alice and Jasper laugh.

"What happened?" Edward asked, turning to place a small pile of pancakes in the center of the island.

"Bella stabbed Emmett," Jasper snickered.

"Good girl," he said, turning to me and dropping a kiss on my cheek. Alice squealed.

"I need to do that pose! That was so- so- cute!"

"Are you just going to make us pose every time we do something-cute?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.

"Only it'll be naked!" she cried, making Emmett choke and Jasper spew milk out his nose.

"Don't _say_ that, Alice!" Emmett demanded after he got his breath back.

"What? _Naked_?"

"No! Don't talk about our brother like that! I really don't want to hear anything about, or _picture_ it, or anything! Am I clear?"

"You need to grow up, Emmybear," I said. "Soon enough you'll be naked, anyway, so what the hell?"

"What do you mean I'll be naked?" He glanced from me to Alice and looked horrified. "I _refuse _to be part of a three-some!" I froze as Jasper began coughing to hide his laughter.

"Emmett Cullen!" Alice bellowed. "I would not ruin and of my paintings by putting you in them!"

"Are you saying I'm ugly, then?" he roared back.

"There will be no three-somes in my collection!" she retorted.

"Well, that's fine with me!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fantastic," I muttered. Edward had managed to sit down amongst the shouts and scooted his chair closer to mine. I laid my head on his shoulder. "I don't think I can handle the day if they'll be acting like this."

"I'll give you a massage later. How does that sound?"

"Like heaven," I sighed.

"Then it's a deal. You make it through the day, I'll give you a massage."

"I think I'm getting the better end of the deal," I chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want anything in return?"

"What else would I want? I get to touch you. _That_ is my reward," He said holding up his forkful of pancakes to me. I opened my mouth and closed it around the fork, watching as he eyed my lips. He shook his head and asked, "do you think you should call Rose and tell her about this little outing of ours?"

"I already called her," Alice chirped. "We, as in Jasper and I, and you and Edward will be riding together while Emmett goes and picks up Rose. So, let's get going!"

"You can't send me after her!" he cried.

"True," I said, and he smiled at me. "She'll have to drive her own car. So we'll just drop Emmett off at our apartment building." His smile dropped.

"I don't know what to say to her," he protested.

"Talk to her about cars," I said, waving it off. "And no innuendos. She doesn't like that. She'll get violent."

"With me? Hah. I'm too good looking for any girl to get violent with me!"

"Violent as in getting stabbed with a fork?" Jasper asked. Emmett flushed.

"Um, yeah, like that. But Bella's weird!" he yelled. Edward leaned across the table and smacked Emmett in the chest.

"She is not."

"Ooh, yeah, stick up for your girlfriend, Eddie," he teased.

"Don't do that in front of Rose," I murmured, examining my nails. "If you say anything against Edward in her presence she'll probably smack you."

"Why?" Edward asked, intrigued. I blushed a little.

"I told her about you."

"And?"

"And she thinks you're good for me," I muttered, looking at the table.

"But that's a good thing. I _want _to be good for you," he said quietly. "Do you agree with her?"

"Yes," I replied, my face getting darker.

"Well, bonding time is over, let's go," Alice said, grabbing my wrist, toppling me face fist out of my chair before Edward caught me inches from the ground.

"Whatever you say, sister dear," I heard Edward growl, and grinned, happy to be in his arms.


	7. Endorsing Voyeurism

We drove down to Rose's and my apartment, all crammed into Edward's silver Volvo. By the time we reached it, Emmett was sweating bullets, stammering to himself about how he didn't know what to talk about and how he didn't think he'd manage if he didn't drive and wondering how hot she looked. I was giggling uncontrollably in the background until we reached our block, then finally caught my breath long enough to remind him of his lesson in borrowing confidence.

"Who are you?" I asked

"I am Emmett," he stammered.

"And what are you?"

"Not confident at all," he panicked.

"Get confident," I snapped. "Breathe like I taught you and relax. If you go in acting like a fool, she'll treat you like a fool. And if there's a weird guy on our doorstep, kick him. Thanks," I said, pushing him out of the car. "Get going!" We sped off in the direction of the mall we were going to meet up at. Almost immediately, Alice's phone started ringing. She looked at it and grinned.

"It's Emmett," she said. "He took a whole thirty seconds longer than I thought he would!" She cheerfully put the phone on silent and slipped it back into her pocket. "Watch out, Edward, he'll be calling you next." Sure enough, Edward's phone began to ring when Alice's cut off. We laughed, and I dug in Edward's pocket to reach his phone, then turned it off as well. Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of the giant shopping center- my personal Hell- and turned off the car. Getting out, I noticed a few heads turn our way, then a few more. I clutched Edward's hand tightly, and Alice wrapped an arm around my waist, holding onto Jasper with her other hand.

"Alice, why are they all watching us?" I hissed.

"No idea," she chirped, skipping ahead with Jasper to 'wait for us inside'. When she reached the revolving doors, I spun on my heel and tried to drag Edward back to his car. He wouldn't budge.

"Edward," I whined.

"Bella," he mimicked. "Apparently you don't want that massage," he said smugly. I looked up at him doubtfully. "I promised to give you a massage if you made it through the day. To do that, you actually have to come with us." I pouted at him, making him roll his eyes. Cozying up to him, I fluttered my lashes playfully, tugging him towards a bench outside the doors. "Fine, you have ten minutes of reprieve." I smiled happily as he sat down, pulling me into his lap. What felt like only a few moments later, but was actually a few long minutes, we broke apart because of wolf whistles from a group of teenagers.

"Take off your shirt!" one kid yelled. I was about to flip him off when Edward held me down on his hips. I looked at him, and he smirked, sticking out his tongue slightly. I forgot all about the kids and leaned down to suck it into my mouth, each of us grappling with each other. He broke off suddenly.

"Sorry, kid, she's mine." The kid grinned.

"So I see. We'll let you get back to it. Come on you guys, lets go." They turned and left, the leader looking back and grinning at us before running to catch up.

"Did you know those guys?" I asked.

"No, but they only wanted to see a little." he smiled lazily.

"Oh, endorsing voyeurism, now, are you?" I grinned, tapping him on the nose with my index finger.

"Not on your life," he replied, glancing at his watch. "And guess what?"

"My time's up?" I sighed.

"Your time's up," he complied. "Time to go in."

"Where have you been, Alice?" I asked, eyeing the already full hands of Jasper. "And how long did it take you? And how much money did you spend?"

"When the salespeople see Alice coming, they go into overdrive," Jasper sighed wearily.

"It's not all for me! I heard you live in an apartment, that must be boring, so I bought furnishings and-"

"You bought us furnishings for our apartment, Alice?" I asked, hurt. "Do you think that Rose and I have no taste and that we can't pick things out for ourselves?"

"Well, you live in an apartment, so I thought-" she cut off timidly.

"You thought we couldn't afford anything," I finished angrily. "Thanks a lot." I spun around and marched back out the way I came. There was a park across from the mall, and I went over and sat on one of the swings, as childish as that might seem. Someone sat on the swing next to me. I ignored him.

"What, did that jerk dump you or something?" I looked up. It was the guy that whistled at Edward and I. "Man, that bites."

"Edward didn't dump me," I muttered.

"Ooh, Edward, huh? Just his name makes him sound like a gentleman," he chuckled, making me giggle slightly as well. He held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Jacob, by the way."

"Bella," I said, shaking his hand firmly.

"So, if your boyfriend didn't do anything, then what happened to you?" he asked. I smiled wryly.

"His sister said something that made me angry."

"She doesn't like you?" he asked knowingly.

"No, that's not it. Alice loves me, and I love her, but she just, sort of, insulted my ability to take care of myself," I explained. "She thinks that because I live in an apartment I'm poor. I'm not rich, yeah, but I work for a living, and my sister is my roommate, so we're just fine living in an apartment. It's close to both places that we work, and it has a diner down the street, so it's all good."

"My girlfriend and I don't live together," he said. "We're going to wait until after we're married to get a place," he said absently. "We were both thinking somewhere in the woods, you know? So that it's nice and natural."

"That sounds nice. Edward's got a place that could house a small country," I said, rolling my eyes, making him snicker. "I swear, I can't go to the kitchen without getting lost. There are too may hallways and not enough bathrooms."

"That's unfortunate," he replied. "We want a small place, like a cottage, or something. But we want a big garage," he said with a grin. "I build cars."

"Really? That is so cool! My sister owns a mechanic shop, but she's never built a car before!"

"Whoa, your sister owns her own shop? That's awesome!"

"Bella!" I turned my head and saw Rose jump out of her car, leaving it in the middle of the street, with Emmett sitting nervously in the passenger's seat, watching with trepidation as the other cars swerved around him.

"Rose! What are you doing? Do you want to get hit?"

"Is her boyfriend abusive?" Jacob asked, cracking his knuckles a he stared at Emmett in the car.

"He's not my boyfriend," Rose said instantly. "Are you Edward?"

"Do I look like the pretty boy giving you tongue?" he asked, turning to me. Rose's eyes popped.

"Jacob saw Edward and I making out on a bench in front of the mall," I laughed.

"You made out? On a bench? In front of the mall?" she asked, each question getting louder and higher in pitch, "and you aren't still with him? You're with another guy? Who watched you make out with the first one?" Jacob and I were shaking in silent laughter by now.

"Jacob, meet my sister, Rose. Rose, meet Jacob." Respectfully, Jacob held out his hand, but retraced it quickly as Rose swiped at it.

"Hey!"

"I came here to meet Edward and that 'mystery guy'," she snarled pointing behind her. "And I find you chatting with another guy after sending him," she pointed to Emmett again, "into the building without an apartment number!"

"Sorry, Rose, gotta go, Jacob, see you in a minute, Emmybear!" I shouted, launching off the swing and sprinting toward the mall, Rose hot on my heels.

"Get back here you little rat!" she shrieked. "Emmett, park the car! Don't you dare hurt my baby!" And after that, it was one long stretch to the mall. I never thought that she'd actually chase me, but I was the faster runner. I made it onto the track team in high school, and she didn't. She was on the dance team. So she was a little – a lot- more ripped than I was, but I still looked good. I was dancing in front of the automatic doors, waiting for them to slowly open, nervously looking over my shoulder at the rapidly approaching blond. They finally opened far enough for me to squeeze through, and I burst into the foyer, glancing around frantically for any sign of Edward. I finally saw his bronze hair and raced for it, nearly knocking down several people reaching him and spinning around, putting him between myself and my sister. She stopped short and looked up the five inches into his face in awe.

"This is him, Bella?" she asked.

"Um, Edward, meet my sister, Rose." He smiled and took her hand, raising it to his lips.

"A pleasure to meet you at last. Bella has told me so much about you. But her explanations could never sum up your true beauty." She blushed. My sister _blushed._

"I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!" came an enormous voice that I immediately identified as Emmett's. "YOU SEND ME INTO YOUR BUILDING LOOKING FOR A GIRL WITH BLOND HAIR AND NICE BOOBS AND WITH NO ROOM NUMBER? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAD TO DO? I WENT AND KNOCKED ON EVERY SINGLE DAMN DOOR UNTIL I REACHED YOURS ON THE _TOP FLOOR!_" he bellowed, making everyone in the sore turn to look. We were all laughing, holding on to each other for support. Well, Rose wasn't laughing. She was waiting for us to calm down, tapping her foot angrily.

"Sorry, Emmett," I gasped. "That is too funny!"

"That isn't funny, you klutz," Rose sneered. I stopped laughing, confused. She knew how much that hurt me. She realized it right away. "Bella-"

"It's fine, Rose," I said hollowly, smiling a fake smile and plastering it onto my face. Edward glared and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, steering me away from the group.

"Bella!"

"Let Edward talk to her," I heard Emmett say. "He'll take care of her." We walked away and Edward let his hand trail up and down my arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. I shook my head and pressed my face into his shoulder.

"That's what everyone used to call me when I was in school. Forks was a small town, so there were always the same people. They all called my klutzy, and it hurt a lot. One day, Rose called me a klutz in front of her friends because I was bugging her. She was a year older me, and I was just a lousy Freshmen. That was the worst one. I told my mom and dad that I wanted to switch schools, but I couldn't. So I didn't talk to her for the rest of the year, I was so _angry_. But most of all I was hurt. I changed my routes so I didn't have to see her at all during the day. She got one of her friends to drive her home so we didn't have to take the bus together. I didn't have any friends in high school, and this just made it worse. Once my sister called me a klutz, it spread, not just to the people that made fun of me before, but also to people who didn't know me either. No one wanted to get to know me.

"About halfway through my Sophmore year, she came to my room in tears and apologized. Her friend Angela told her about her sister, who committed suicide over the summer. Rose said she never wanted me to leave without saying goodbye. We made up, but my life changed. Sometimes, I still privately blame her for ruining high school for me. I know it's irrational, but I don't know who else to blame."

"How about those who called you a klutz in the first place?" Edward asked softly, pulling me into a hug.

"They were right, though."

"They were wrong," Edward said firmly, pulling back. "You are not a klutz. You are beautiful. They were just calling you klutzy because they were jealous."

"Of what?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Of me falling out a window during Spring Break? Or of tripping down a flight of stairs before falling out the window?" He looked at me skeptically. "I spent a good part of my Junior year in the hospital." He grinned, exasperated.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, resting his head on top of mine.

"I don't know. I feel a little better, though," I replied.

"Good. Because there are two people that owe you an apology. I chewed out Alice for you. I didn't know she could be so rude," he muttered, glaring at something off to his right.

"You didn't have to do that," I said.

"I had to. That was no way to treat a friend. She hasn't even seen your apartment, so she doesn't know anything. Let's go. they both sounded deeply sorry."

"What would you do if they weren't?"

"Make them so."

"Oh really? Are you my knight in shining armor?" He leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"_I'm your knight in the nude_."


	8. Let Me Lick Your Eyebrow

"Super sorry, Bella!" Rose sobbed into my shoulder when I reached them. I patted her back awkwardly. "I- I didn't mean it, you have to believe me!"

"Hey, Rose, I know you didn't mean it. You're not cruel. Well," I teased, and she smacked me lightly.

"I am not mean. Tell her, Emmett."

"I am staying out of this. Bella's already stabbed me once."

"You did what?" she asked, spinning towards me.

"He was dissing Edward," I pouted. She spun back to Emmett, a threatening look on her face.

"Why were you dissing Edward?" she asked.

"I only said that I was glad he found someone he liked!" he protested.

"Is that true, Bella?" she asked, turning back to me.

"In context," I said. "You're going to get sick if you spin around anymore," I chuckled, and she nodded, bending over with her hands on her knees. "Rose can't handle anything that goes around in circles," I explained. "We tried going to a NASCAR race, but she got sick on the second lap."

"Shut up, Bella," she muttered. "I didn't answer the door naked."

"That was an accident," I snapped.

"She woke up and forgot she was naked before answering the door. There was the package delivery guy, speechless. Then he made a comment-"

"And I kicked him," I said happily. "And he fell over." They were all looking at me like I was nuts, except for Rose, because she was used to me. "So, what to do now?"

"Ooh, Marc-"

"No," snapped the rest of us, cutting off Alice. "I say we eat," Emmett said. After a vote, we sat down outside a buffet and waited for our waitress. When she arrived, I couldn't help but stare in shock. It was a girl that I had gone to school with. Thankfully, she didn't recognize me, but I did notice that she gave all of our guys a once over.

"Bells," Rose hissed. "Is that Jessica?" I nodded, making a face.

"Who's Jessica?" asked Jasper.

"She's a girl that went to school with us. She was the one that picked on Bella the most. She was the "popular girl" and all the girls at school wanted to be like her. Well, except us," Rose explained. "The teachers only gave her the grades she got because her parents were on the school board. She hasn't changed much, has she?" We laughed.

"She looked almost exactly the same when we graduated, except her hair was shorter then."

"How much did you guys change, then?" asked Alice. Rose and I dug in our wallets and pulled out our pictures from our senior year. In mine, I had a short, cute, choppy bob, a pair of glasses, and a shy smile on my face. My shirt was a sapphire turtleneck, and there was a silver chain with a heart pendant around my neck. Rose, on the other hand, had brown hair (which she had dyed) pulled up in a ponytail, a t-shirt, a purple ribbon around her neck, and a nose piercing.

"You had your nose pierced?" asked Edward incredulously to my sister.

"Not the best decision I ever made," she laughed. "Bella came with me and I almost broke her hand I was holding it so hard. I felt like a wuss when she went and got her tattoo done and didn't need anything to hold on to."

"You have a tattoo? Where?" asked Alice. "I haven't seen one!" I swept my hair back from the right side of my head and showed them the tattoo on the back of my ear. _'Rose'_ it said in curling script.

"I cried when she finally took the bandages off," Rose admitted. "I didn't know what she got, and she wouldn't tell me. And there was my name."

"Cause you're the best sister in the world," I said, grinning at her. "It didn't hurt that bad, anyway." At that moment, Jessica came back and saw our photos on the table.

"Bella? Rosalie?" she gasped, then glanced at the boys before plastering a smile on her face. "It's so good to se you again! And who are you guys?"

Edward leaned over and whispered in my ear, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer, "is she the plotting type?" I nodded, smiling at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jessica sneer.

I leaned back over to him and whispered back, "can I have a little fun?" He leaned back.

"Of course, Bella," he said, kissing my forehead. "I promised you a massage when we got back, didn't I?"

"In your bed?" I asked quietly, but loud enough for Jessica to hear. She was seething.

"Not the fur rug?" he asked back, still watching me.

"We did that last time," I whined. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"How could I forget that?" he asked, taking my hands in his. "I could never forget anything about you. Especially not that cute little spot on your hip," he said, caressing it. I smiled up at him.

"You always know just what to say to make me feel better, Edward." I hugged him from my chair, winking at the others over his shoulder. They gave me discrete thumbs up, and I leaned back. "Oh, are you guys done ordering?"

"I ordered the buffet for all of us," Alice said, bouncing out of her seat, "since I know you eat a lot." She eyed Emmett and I before taking off towards the line filled with food. As we were passing Jessica, her eyes glinted menacingly.

"You kl-" She didn't get the whole word out before Edward grabbed her by the arm and stormed towards the door marked manager. A portly man emerged, and I saw Edward gesturing to Jessica, then back at me. I made myself look hurt and dejected, while Alice and Rose put their arms around me, glaring at the girl. The manager nodded and Edward turned, grinning triumphantly. I ran and hugged him.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" He kissed me lightly before setting me down and taking my hand.

"Well, Bella, you're finally getting your revenge on that bitch, aren't you?"

"Finally," I said, rolling my eyes. "I still have a bone to pick with her, but I can handle it on my own, thank you very much."

"If you say the word, Windchime, I'll bust her face up," Emmett said, cracking his knuckles. "I know how to do it without leaving trace, so the police will never catch me!" he said happily.

"Really, Emmett, I don't think that that will be necessary," Alice said. "I have a plan." We all leaned and Alice explained.

"No more shopping, Alice," Rose begged, being pulled along by the pixie-like girl. "My feet are killing me!"

"Emmett, carry Rose," she demanded, turning into _Chanel_. He looked down at her and she scowled.

"I am not that tired," she sneered, following her new-found friend into the store. Emmett looked back at me dejectedly and I gave him a hug.

"Don't worry, Emmybear, she'll come around soon enough. She's a little wary around men sometimes." I patted him on the back, and he nodded, following the girls and Jasper into the boutique. I turned to Edward and he lifted me onto his back before entering as well.

Four hours later, we were standing outside the mall, watching as the rain poured down and people ran to their cars. I groaned, as did Alice and Rose. Me, just because I didn't want to get wet, and the other two, because they didn't want their hair or clothes to get ruined. I rolled my eyes, grabbed Edward's hand, and ran. We heard them yelling behind us, and I threw my head back, laughing all the way to Edward's Volvo. He soon surged forward and spun me around, holding my hand above my head like a ballerina. I turned my head and saw Alice tucked under Jasper's arm like a football while he sprinted towards us, and Emmett holding his coat over Rosalie's head so she didn't get wet as she walked. Alice pointed at me meaningfully, and I rolled my eyes again.

When we reached the house, Rose followed Alice into the driveway and gaped at the house. We stepped out and she latched onto my arm. "You weren't kidding, Bells! This place is huge!"

"I told you so," I said, smug.

"Was she bragging about our house?" Alice asked, getting out and avoiding stepping in a puddle.

"She said it was big, but I didn't think it's be this grand!"

"Who uses the word 'grand'?" asked, Jasper, narrowly avoiding Rose's foot. "It's just a question."

"She's stuck in a romance novel, don't mind her," I said, making my way up the giant marble staircase to the double doors.

"Just my luck," he muttered behind me.

"This is my studio," Alice said, pulling Rose behind her on a tour of the house. "Don't you just love the way the light comes in the windows? Isn't it _grand_?"

"Shut up," Rose snapped, only half serious. "It's just a word."

"Yeah, yeah. And this is Edward's room-"

"Don't show off my room!" Edward bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.

"Everyone will see it anyway!" Alice screamed back. "This is- so far- where all of their paintings have been done. Except one that I did in the dining room. That's this way, come on!"

Hearing Alice bouncing down the stairs with Rose in tow, Edward grabbed my arm and hauled me into a room off the hall, looking frantic.

"What now?" I hissed.

"Alice will want us to re-enact the pose," he explained. I shrugged, then turned to look at the room we were in. It seemed to be a music room of sorts. There was a grand piano next to a large window, a harp in a corner, and a set of shelves that held all sorts of cased instruments. There were filing cabinets that I guessed held folders of sheet music, and a computer at a desk hooked up to recording equipment.

"Whoa, this is so cool!"

"Do you really think so?"

"Geeze, Edward. This is a gorgeous room. Do you play anything?"

"The piano. And the harp. And the guitar. And-"

"Basically everything," I cut in. "I'm not too bad with the guitar, myself, but piano is definitely out."

"Would you like to play something? Together, maybe?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure, I guess. I usually use Charlie's guitar, but…"

"Who's Charlie?" Edward asked, looking at me sideways.

"He's my dad. He doesn't play anymore." All of a sudden, he looked stricken. "What's wrong with you?"

"Your parents aren't coming to Alice's exhibition, are they?" I burst into laughter, laughing so hard that I had to sit, clutching my sides, silent sobs wracking my body. I was struggling to breathe, but one look at Edward's puzzled face made me break down again. The door swung open, and all of the others piled in.

"What is going on here?" Rose asked, hands on her hips.

"Parents- exhibition- paintings- see- kill- ha ha ha ha!" I gasped out, confusing the others further. "Help- Rose!" I begged. Whenever I had a laughing fit like this one, Rose knew exactly what to do.

"Do I have to, Bella?" she whined. "I don't want to do that with everyone watching!"

"…Can't… breathe!"

"You owe me!" she spat before coming over and kneeling next to me. She grabbed my face and leaned forward.

"Don't kiss Bella!" Emmett exclaimed, reaching forward. I snorted loudly, disrupting the others. Rose glared at him.

"I can kiss whomever I want, but it definitely won't be Bella." With that, she leaned forward and licked my eyebrow.

"What the Hell?" asked Jasper, voicing the thoughts of everyone present.

"It stops my laughing fit," I said, completely sober. "Don't know why, it just does."

"Guess what you two?" chirped Alice. "Edward, you get to lick Bella's eyebrow!"

"Ooh, that's romantic," I snickered.

"Oh, darling," Rose mocked, taking me into her arms. "I love you to death, let me lick your eyebrow!"

"I'm not ready for that yet, my love. Start slow, start with my ear!" We broke off into giggles, and Alice followed suit. The boys just looked at us like we were crazy. I didn't mind. Not one bit.


	9. Aunt Vicky

"So, your sister licks your eyebrow when you have laughing fits?" Edward murmured against my cheek. He was standing while I was sitting on a marble bench in the garden, rose bushes surrounding us. My cheek was upturned, and Edward had a light hand settled gently on my shoulder as he kissed my rosy cheek. One of my hands was supporting me on the bench while the other rested on the back of his leg.

"Only when they get really bad," I muttered. "And she won't do it in public."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Why, 'cause you'll do it for her?"

"Of course," he replied, making me blush happily.

"I can feel your blush, Bella. Did I say something?"

"We are having a conversation, aren't we? You should be talking." His tongue slipped out of his mouth, quickly flicking over my skin.

"Hush, you," he chuckled. I stayed silent and struggled not to turn and jump him and his sexy lips.

"All done!" Alice cried, and I gave in, turning and grabbing his hair to bring his lips down to mine. He grabbed my hips and we fell off of the bench, sprawled on the soft green grass. I laughed before rolling us over so that I was on top, legs swaying in the air and Edward's hands on my waist. I almost forgot Alice's presence; I was so comfortable with her brother. "Freeze!" I laughed and splayed my fingers in the grass under Edward's head as I touched my nose to his. "Perfect, you two!"

"I win," I giggled, rubbing his nose with mine.

"Win what?" he asked, giving a little thrust of his hips. I didn't blush, to his surprise. I returned his seduction by rolling my hips in a slow circle, smirking.

"That."

"You two have some major sexual tension, don't you?" Alice asked from her perch on her stool. I grinned down at Edward.

"You think? I don't know, Alice…" Edward shot his hands out to my ass and squeezed, making my eyes roll back in my head. "Yes, I think you're right."

"Still think you're winning?" I smiled.

"Truce?"

"Truce," he said, leaning up to give me a quick kiss.

"You two should stop moving so much. Edward, I blame you. Bella never moved so much when she couldn't see you," she pouted.

"I was too afraid of hurting myself or something else," I replied, nuzzling the man underneath me. Alice sighed.

"We have a meeting in a few hours."

"We?" Edward questioned.

"I told the curator that I would bring you two in. She wants to meet the models."

"She?" groaned Edward. "She'll be hanging all over me!"

"I'll hold her off," I teased, giggling. "What's her name, Alice?"

"Esme. Esme Ann Platt. She divorced her first husband because he was abusive. She had a son, but he died of lung cancer when he was twelve. She really wants kids."

"Wow, Alice, how did you know all that?"

"I've been talking to her for months. Edward, I want to introduce her to Dad."

"What?" Edward yelped, twitching. I gulped. "Why?"

"Because I know they're perfect for each other," she said, lengthening her brush strokes. I frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Will Carlisle want to date again after Elizabeth?" I asked. Edward froze, as did Alice. _Oh, shit._

"How did you know about Dad?" Edward asked frigidly.

"I told her, Edward," Alice said. The man underneath me rolled over and pushed me off before stalking to his sister.

"How could you Alice? We've only known her for a few months! And she's only your damn model!" he hissed. I gasped quietly before leaping up and sprinting out of the garden, tears streaming down my face. Still naked, I rocketed past the other three and into Edward's room, gathering my clothes. Hurriedly, I put them on and headed for the back door. I got into my old truck and started it, gunning it down the driveway. I pulled off and onto a deserted road, down which I knew there was a small diner.

"Hey there, what can I help you with?" asked a redhead behind the counter. 'Victoria,' her nametag read.

"Just a… um…"

"How does a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake sound?" she asked kindly.

"Anything but chocolate," I replied thankfully. She smiled and brought it out a moment later. "Thanks," I said sincerely.

"No problem, hun. If you don't mind my saying, most girls love chocolate."

"Yeah, I know. A guy kind of just ruined it for me."

"Tell Aunt Vicky all about it, sweety. She has had enough boy problems to know what to do with yours." I smiled gratefully and told her all about it, leaving out the nude part of the modeling and the sign language. "Well, that doesn't sound so good. How could any man do something like that to a sweet little thing like you?"

"No idea. We were getting along great."

"But he didn't know that you and Alice-right? Were friends for how many years?"

"Six."

"Six years, that's right. So, it must have come as a shock to hear that you know about family issues that he probably buried deep down. I mean, I lost my mother at a young age, and it took a special guy to be able to get me to talk about her again. Maybe that's all your guy needs, someone to listen to him. Give him a while to cool off and feel guilty, then call his sister. He'll demand to talk to you if he feels sufficiently sorry."

"Thanks Aunt Vicky," I said, grinning. She smiled, too.

"I like you, kid. Come on in any time. I'll listen." The door jingled, and she looked up with a smile. "I was just talking about you!" I turned to look and saw a handsome blond man in jeans and a t-shirt enter the diner. "Bella, this is James, the special man that I was telling you about. James, this is Bella, our new niece."

"Good to meet you," he said, extending a hand. "Ready to blow this popsicle stand, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning over the counter to give her a kiss. I smiled slightly.

"One minute. I want to watch Bella call her friend, first. Then we can go. I'll be right here, Bella. Give Alice a call." I nodded and slowly pulled my phone from my pocket, staring at it.

"It isn't going to bite you, sweetheart," James said, pulling it out of my grip. He handed it back a moment later. It was answered on the first ring.

"Bella? Oh, God, Bella, where are you? We're worried sick about you!" There was shouting in the background.

"Oh, really? I'm 'only your damn model'," I replied frostily, tears collecting in my eyes. Vicky slid herself over to me, and I gave her a watery smile. James nodded and crossed his legs.

"Bella, you're not just my model, you're my best friend! Edward was just shocked."

"Even if he was just shocked, I thought he felt something for me! I thought he liked me!"

"He does!" she protested.

"Then why would he say something like that! He would have talked to me, not insulted me! I don't know if I can keep this up, Alice."

"You have to, Bella! If you don't, the whole series is trash!"

"You have enough pictures for a small gallery," I said wearily, losing most of my anger. "Tell Rose I'll see her at home." I hung up and turned to the other two. "He didn't demand to talk to me," I said, sniffling. Victoria pulled me into her arms.

"Shhh… baby, he'll come around. Until then, you gotta show him what he's missing."

"I'm not going to change to get him to take me back."

"No, no. You're going to take us home to meet him," she said smirking evilly.


	10. Il Palazzo Reale Museo D'arte

"Follow me, then." I said, sliding into my truck.

"I love your truck, Bella," James said, kicking the tire. "It has personality."

"Thanks, Uncle James," I replied, watching him mount his motorcycle, Victoria getting on behind him. We drove off, and I checked my rearview mirror every few minutes to check and see if they were still there. Vicky waved every time. I smiled. I had never had an Aunt or Uncle, both of my parents were only children, and it felt good to have family, even if they weren't related. We pulled into the parking lot of my upscale apartment building, and I was surprised to see Rose's BMW and Emmett's Jeep along with Edward's Volvo.

"Ready to do this, sugar?" Vicky asked, grinning down at me. I noticed she was wearing a poofy yellow skirt, a black tank top covered with a camouflage linen shirt, unbuttoned, of course, and high heeled combat boots. James' jeans were ripped across the knees, and his t-shirt said '_Mess With Her and I Kill You_'. It was pretty bomb. There was a black bandanna around his head, and he had a piercing in his left ear, a shark tooth.

"Absolutely not." James and Victoria each grabbed an arm and dragged me towards the doors. "I can't do this," I whined.

"You will do this. We will be right here. So will Alice, and your sister. So chill out," James said, pushing me into the elevator. "What floor do you live on?"

"The top one," I muttered. Vicky pushed the button and I sulked in the corner. The doors chimed and I moaned. Stepping into the hall, I saw someone sitting on my doorstep. Two people. Tyler and his blond friend. "What are you doing on my doorstep?" They shot up, giving me terrified looks.

"We just- uh- wanted to see if-"

"Screw you," said James, glaring. "Get off the doorstep."

"Who's gonna make me?" Vicky stepped forward, next to her husband.

"You see these heels? You're gonna lose the ability to spawn if you keep standing here. My hubby here agrees with me, don't you, baby?" He grinned manically and they shot off down the hall. Then he stepped forward and pounded on the door. It opened a second later.

"Who are you?" asked Emmett.

"Let us in, Emmybear," I sighed.

"Bella!" came Edward's voice. He pushed past his brother and bundled me into his arms. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, Bella, please believe me! I didn't know, I shouldn't have been so surprised; I shouldn't have acted so rashly, I should have let you explain! I never meant to hurt you, I swear, I'll make it up to you, Bella. Alice explained everything, I felt like such an ass, I shouldn't have said anything without knowing the whole story, I-" He said it all in between kisses bestowed upon my skin. My face, my neck, my shoulders, anywhere he could reach. I cut him off by dragging his lips up to mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and he hugged me tightly to him. I pulled away.

"Lighten up, Edward." Everyone laughed. Then, he saw James and Victoria.

"Who are they?" I smirked.

"They're my Aunt and Uncle." His jaw dropped. "Guys, meet Victoria and James. My Aunt Vicky and Uncle James."

"We have an Aunt and Uncle?" Rose asked.

"Sure do, Rosie," Vicky said, swooping in to give her a hug and whisper in her ear. Rose grinned.

"That's fantastic, Aunt Vicky!" Edward was looking a little green around the gills as James leveled his cold stare on him. He let go of me and backed away.

"Get right back where you were, young man," he snapped. "You're going to make it up to my niece for what you did, understand?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, nodding vigorously, obviously happy that James wasn't going to try to keep us apart.

"Want to stay for dinner?" Alice asked, bouncing excitedly. Vicky looked shocked as she gazed at Alice. Then, she turned on me.

"You never told me it was Alice _Cullen_!" she shrieked. I grinned nervously. "You never told me that you were modeling for the world famous romantic painter! How could you not tell me that?"

"I didn't want you to know that I was modeling nude!" I protested, and she choked.

"Nude?!" I nodded, and Edward cursed quietly behind me, glancing over his shoulder at James. "Don't look at my husband, pretty boy, it's me you should be scared of!"

"I'm scared," he said, holding me tighter.

"You'd better be." Then she turned back to Alice. "Think you can get my babe and I a pair of tickets?"

"On one condition," Alice replied, making Victoria nod. "Tell me where you got that skirt!" she screamed, grabbing it, gently, and examining the material.

"I made it myself. You like?"

"I love it! That is so cool!"

"I did James' shirt, too," she said, pointing. "Show off that sexy chest, honey, and let Alice get a look at ya." James rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"Ooh, I think Jasper needs a shirt like that! Want to start a line? Talk to me, baby, I'll set you up. I have… connections!"

"Gimme a line, sugar, and you're on. Promote me, will you?"

"Keep making things like this and I won't be able to stop myself!"

"That's good. So, what are you having for dinner?"

* * *

It was getting late, and Vicky and James decided to head out. We exchanged hugs and numbers, then watched them walk out the door with the promise to visit soon. As soon as they were gone, they turned to me. I smiled, still wrapped in Edward's arms.

"Okay, spill. Who were they?" asked Jasper, shaking his head.

"Victoria and James," I said, laughing.

"They aren't really related to us," Rose said, making Edward start.

"Are you serious? I was freaking out for nothing?" he asked.

"Not for nothing, Eddie," I muttered. "They are rather protective of me."

"Who are they, though?"

"Vicky works at the diner I went to after I left."

"Bella…"

"Edward…" I sighed, mocking him.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"I know. They just wanted to help teach you a lesson. Do you think they helped?"

"If by helping you mean nearly giving me a heart attack, then yes, I think they helped."

"Why would you get a heart attack from Vicky and James?"

"Hello? If they were actually your Aunt and Uncle how would they react to the news that their niece was modeling with a man, nude, in a romance series?" he asked, raising his brows and giving me a look. I looked up innocently at him.

"I never thought about that." Edward rolled his eyes.

"Sure you didn't." Alice came bouncing over.

"I love your apartment, guys. There is so much color!"

"Thanks, Alice," Rose said, sitting on one side of the couch and Emmett on the other. "We put a lot of work into it, didn't we, Bells?"

"Too much, if you ask me," I muttered, moving forward to sit on the coffee table, curling my legs up underneath me.

"There is no such thing as too much," Alice protested.

"Except when there's too much," Emmett whispered to Jasper, who snickered.

"Would you two be quiet?" Alice snapped. "We missed our appointment, thanks to shenanigans being pulled, so it's scheduled for nine AM tomorrow. Is that understood?" she asked, glaring at me, and then turning to Edward.

"Yes, Alice," I sighed, yawning. "I am going to go to bed, now, it's been a long day. See you all tomorrow."

"What about me?" asked Edward, quirking a brow.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

* * *

"Bella, Alice called, and she'll be here in half an hour to pick you up for your appointment with Esme," Rose called through my door. I rolled over and groaned.

"I don' want to get up!"

"Get up, please, I have fresh strawberries for you." I bolted up and pulled on clothes that I thought Alice would approve of: a pair of light wash blue jeans, a green polo shirt, and a pair of Converse. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and opened my door. Rose was on the couch with a cup of yogurt, watching the news.

"I'm out, where are my strawberries?"

"They're going to stop by a farmer's market on the way to Esme's," Rose said, her back still to me. I frowned.

"Thanks a lot, Rose. I could have slept in another ten minutes, but you had to go and say you got me strawberries," I muttered to myself. "See you later, Rose," I said, picking up my keys from the basket on the table.

"Later, Bells. Be good."

"I'm always good," I retorted.

"You almost gave your boyfriend a heart attack," she reminded me.

"He's not my boyfriend yet," I reminded her.

"Soon?"

"Definitely." As soon as I had opened the door exiting our building, Alice pulled up in her Porsche. I rolled my eyes as she rolled down the window.

"I knew that you'd try to leave without me!"

"I came down to meet you," I replied, opening the door and sliding into the leather-covered seat. "Take me to the strawberries."

"I'm hurt that you didn't even say hi to me," came Edward's voice from the backseat. I turned around.

"Oh, my apologies, Edward. I'll say it when I get my strawberries. Drive, Alice, I haven't had breakfast yet." She pulled out of the parking lot and down the street, heading for the part of town with the farmer's market. Alice and I chatted back and forth, talking about clothes and boys, totally ignoring Edward. When we got there, Alice bounced away as soon as she locked the doors, leaving Edward and I alone. I began to follow her, but was pilled back into a muscular chest that I had become very accustomed to.

"Bella."

"Edward." He turned me around and pressed a hesitant kiss to my lips before pulling back.

"I know what you were doing."

"What was I doing?" I asked, tracing up his arms with my fingertips.

"You trying to make me jealous by telling Alice how attractive that Jacob kid was," he replied.

"Did it work?" I asked into the skin of his neck.

"Irrevocably. I had to keep myself from proving to you that I was better than him."

"Oh, are you sure that you still don't have to prove that? I mean, his face looks so-" I was cut off as Edward lowered his lips and pressed a bruising kiss to mine. He pressed me against the car, and I lifted my legs around his hips. "Did you miss me?" I asked, panting, as he pressed his lips to my neck. He nipped at it before looking up into my eyes, his a mixture of emotions.

"I couldn't sleep without you next to me," he said quietly. "I was punishing myself for doing something horrifying enough to make you make me sleep alone." I traced the dark circles under his eyes with a soft finger.

"I'm sorry, Edward. You just made me angry. Maybe I shouldn't have gone that far."

"I deserved every minute of your punishment, Bella," he replied. "But I think that you need to be punished as well," he whispered darkly in my ear, making me shiver and my core ache.

"Edward…"

"Edward, put Bella down," Alice commanded, returning to the car with a rope bag in her hand. "I don't want any dents in my car." I blushed as Edward lowered me to the ground.

"Alice-"

"Get in, both of you. We have an appointment to make." Edward opened the door and climbed into the back seat, then allowed me in. We again took off, this time to the older part of town, where the museum was. The museum itself was a giant marble building, the steps flanked by massive winged lions, and the doors by life-size marble elephants. "Welcome to _Il Palazzo Reale Museo D'arte_, otherwise known as The Paladin History Museum."


	11. What Shopping Cart?

"Welcome to _Il Palazzo Reale Museo D'arte_, you three!" exclaimed a beautiful brunette woman inside the doors. Her hair was down to her waist and her hazel eyes were bright and cheery. "I am so looking forward to getting to know you!"

"You too, Esme," I said, extending a hand with a smile. "I can't wait for the gallery to debut."

"It's going to be a hit, I can assure you. And you must be Edward," she said, smiling brightly at the man next to me. He nodded and held out his hand as well.

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said, kissing the back of her wrist. "Bella and I both look forward to working with you."

"They are so polite, Alice!"

"I know, they are a joy to work with. Just wait until you see the paintings, they are gorgeous, so beautiful."

"You're just saying that, Alice," I said, scrunching up my nose. Edward wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You need to kick up the courage, sweet-cheeks. You are stunning, so get over it."

"He's right, you know," Esme said, beckoning us to follow her. "The two of you together are even better. You compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses very well."

"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling to catch up.

"Well, I guess you could say that where Edward is hard and lean, you are lush and soft." I flushed lightly. "You both have your strong suits, like compassion, domination, and liveliness, which all adds to a piece. An artist can't usually pull something like this out of the air, there has to be a physical manifestation in front of them. And from what I can see, you two are the embodiment of love and passion." We entered a tastefully decorated study, elegantly sparse, a few pieces of art decorating the space. "Go ahead and have a seat." We sat on a love seat while Alice took a leather chair off to the side. "Will you tell me about yourselves? Bella, I heard from Alice that you know sign language. How or what made you want to learn?"

"I had a best friend named Georgia when I was little. She was deaf, and all of the other kids made fun of her. So, I learned sign language so I could talk to her," I said, smiling happily before my face dropped. "We were playing catch in the street one day when a car came too fast around the corner. The driver honked, but she, of course, couldn't hear it. He ran her over. I was eleven years old. She was twelve. That was my first funeral." Edward laid his cheek on my head, and I sniffed pathetically.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Bella. You probably know that I lost my son, already. He died of lung cancer when he was twelve. He was my little angel. You know, Edward, you remind me of him. His name was Peter, and he had the greenest eyes in the world. But he had brown hair, like his father. He couldn't go outside for very long, so he learned to play games. He was very good at Scrabble. I had to bury him alone."

"Esme…" I said, my heart breaking for her.

"Don't worry about me, darling. The years have dulled the pain. Edward, what about you? Where did you learn sign language?"

"My mother," he said quietly. "She was deaf in one ear, and her sister was completely deaf. She taught me so that I could talk to my Aunt Irina. She died only a year later, but in that year, I had many long and colorful conversations. Our mother tried to teach Alice and Emmett, but they never wanted to learn."

"I regret it, now. When everyone was gone, Edward and Mom and sometimes Dad would translate what she said. She talked about her childhood and her pets, and her husband, and I remember being jealous that they could talk to her and I couldn't."

"It hurt Emmett, too. He couldn't learn Aunt Irina's super-secret recipe for chili, and I could," Edward chuckled.

"Edward stood at the funeral for Aunt Irina and translated everything for the audience. She had so many friends, and many of them came up to him afterwards and told him how much it meant to them, being able to hear the service, as it was," Alice added. I hugged Edward tightly, my nose dripping onto his shirt. I hope he didn't mind.

"Please, let us move on to happier topics," Esme said, reaching for the Kleenexes on the desk. We nodded. "Tell me how you got into modeling."

"Well," I chuckled nervously. "Edward can go first!"

"What? Why me?"

"Because I went first last time."

"Esme went first last time."

"I'm _telling_ you to go first this time," I said, elbowing him in the ribs. He reached around me and pulled me to him, tickling my sides as he went. I laughed, but managed to pull myself away.

"I'll go first, only because you asked." I smiled up at him. "I let Alice paint me for a school project. A critic came to the show and asked her who the model was, and here I am. Your turn, Bella." I pouted.

"Mine's not that normal, I'm jealous," I sighed. "So, I was the amusement park one day with my friend Angela, and she decided to drag me onto one of the roller coasters."

"Let me guess, you puked on the fashion dude," Alice said, giggling. I turned to glare at her.

"I can control my stomach, thank you. On the contrary, he puked on me. All over me, to be exact. When we got off, he said sorry, bought me a hotel room and a change of clothes, and that was that," I said, shrugging. "And, Alice, it just so happened to be your father."

"Dad's not a fashion scout!" Alice exclaimed.

"My dad up-chucked on you?" Edward asked, mortified.

"Six years ago, to be exact. And no, he isn't a scout. But the hotel that he put me up in had one staying there. He saw me in the outfit Carlisle picked out and offered me a job. Granted, I was sixteen at the time, and I needed cash for my car, so I said yes."

"And then I met you at one of your shoot with your sister! We got to talking and bang! I totally remember now!" Alice cheered. "That shopping cart must have really messed with my head!"

"What shopping cart?" Esme asked, confused. I snickered.

"Bella and I were at the grocery store to buy groceries. We thought we would make a race of it, so we were running around with the shopping carts trying to beat each other. I left my cart at the end of the isle and ran to get something-"

"Pasta sauce," I interrupted.

"Yeah, pasta sauce. And here comes Bella, whipping around the corner. I was bending over to grab the sauce off the bottom shelf, and I look up, and the next thing I know, I'm sprawled out on the floor, Bella and a super hot guy standing above me," explained Alice calmly. "I only forgave Bella because she introduced Jasper and me."

"Sure did!" I said proudly. "Jasper is her girlfriend."

"Then why did you two act like you didn't know each other?" Edward asked, confused.

"You and Rose didn't even know that we knew each other. How awkward would it be if I knew your sister's boyfriend, too?"  
"You have a point, there," he said.

"I know," I said, snuggling up under his chin. "That's why I'm smarter."

"You haven't even graduated from college, yet, missy," he said, smirking.

"How did you know that?" I asked, pouting up at him.

"Your sister has her diploma framed in your kitchen. I'm sure yours would be up there too, if you had it."

"Fine, Mr. I'm-So-Much-Better-Than-Bella, what did you graduate for?" I asked.

"No one is better than you, Bella," he said, leaning down to kiss me. "But I got my Masters in Music and my Bachelors in Teaching and Theater."

"What are you planning on for your Masters, Bella?" asked Esme. I blushed.

"My Masters is in Journalism, and my Bachelors is in Classical and Historical Literature. I want to do something that involves words, and preferably no public speaking."

"You know, dear, you are going to have to speak at the opening of the gallery," Esme said gently, leaning towards me. I paled.

"Really?"

"It's true," chirped Alice from next to me. I turned my eyes to her.

"Okay, screw the paintings, Alice, I can't speak in public."

"WHAT?!" she screeched. "You can't do that to me!"

"I cannot speak in public, Alice!" I replied, standing, as did she. "You didn't tell me that I would have to speak!"

"Why are you so afraid of speaking in public?" came Edward's soft voice in my ear as he caressed my arms gently. I leaned the back of my head into his sternum, looking up at the ceiling.

"I was giving a speech when I was a junior in high-school to the student body. My first boyfriend was there, and I wanted to impress him. So, I gave my big speech. He didn't even applaud at the end. So I asked him to Snow Daze, the girls' choice dance. He flat out refused and broke up with me in front of the whole student body. Told me why, too. Said that I sounded like an idiot, and that he didn't date idiots, and especially not idiots as ugly as me. He pointed out what I was wearing, and that my body was all wrong, and that he couldn't believe that he ever liked me." I spoke in monotone and didn't let a single tear fall.

"I'll kill that bastard," I heard him mutter under his breath. I laughed hollowly.

"You're too late. He came crawling back to me a month later, after getting his new girlfriend pregnant, begging me to take him back. He said that he couldn't live without me, that I was the only one who made his heart race. I told him to go screw himself and take care of his kid. Found out three days later that he shot his pregnant girlfriend and himself in his garage. I felt sorry for the girl; she never should have had anything to with him. But I'm glad I don't have to worry about him anymore." Edward just stood there and hugged me, for which I was grateful. I had had too many people tell me that it was going to be okay and that things would turn out fine that I just wanted to shoot myself.

"That's a lot to handle," Esme said. "You don't need to speak if it makes you that uncomfortable, Bella." I looked up.

"No, I need to try this. I can't live my life afraid to do something because of what happened in the past. As long as Edward is up there with me, I can do it." Ha smiled down at me.

"I'll be there, I promise."


	12. Forty Four is Not Old

"Bella, Rose'll be here in twenty minutes to help you with your makeup," Alice yelled from the bathroom down the hall. I was lying in Edward's bed reading a stray _Cosmo_ when I heard.

"For what?" I yelled back, rolling my eyes. They had a freaking intercom system and yet she insisted on screaming.

"The boys are taking us out to dinner tonight! All of us and Esme!"

"Esme's coming?" I responded, bounding off the bed. The four of us- Esme, Edward, Alice and I had gone to the museum every morning for the past two weeks to work on the setting for the debut of Alice's work, including the menu, color scheme, guest list, and lighting options.

"Yeah, so grab that cocktail dress I found in your closet and put it on! It's on my bed!" I rolled off Edward's and entered the hallway, sticking my tongue at the bathroom door before Alice's door. Her room was a dusky lavender color with white accents, the only things that weren't either color were her laptop and the lamp beside her bed- both of which were bright green. She still hadn't told me why. There on her bed was the dress I had found in a consignment shop. Slipping out of my clothes I pulled it on over my head and adjusted the skirts.

"Alice! Come do my buttons!" I yelled. The dress was chocolate brown lace over the same colored silk with a fitted strapless bodice and ruffled lace at the bust. The waist was boned and flared into a full skirt the dropped just above my knees. Teal blue velvet lace crisscrossed under the bust and down the bodice to my hips. The 1950's dress had two rows of buttons doing up the back and were impossible to fasten without a second person.

"Holy shit, Bella, the 50's do you justice," Alice said, entering her room with a towel wrapped around her head. I blushed and twirled.

"Thanks, Alice." She did up my buttons, then turned to her closet and eyed it cryptically.

"I don't know what to wear." My jaw dropped.

"_You _don't know what to _wear_?" I asked, agape. She shook her head and I marched into her closet, looking for the dress I knew she had in there. Ten minutes later I found what I was looking for in the farthest reaches of Hell, the dress I bought for her two years ago. I pulled it out and she gasped.

"You are a genius, Bells. I totally forgot that I had that in there. Thank you so much!" She hugged me, then proceed to strip to her skivvies and don the dress. It was a vintage party dress- like mine, in sapphire blue fabric. There was chiffon over the cotton lining of the skirt with a fitted sleeveless bodice, though the upper section- from bust to neck- was chiffon. The shoulders were covered by blue lace and the dress had an empire waist complete with ribbon and gathers. The skirt was comprised of two layers of chiffon, the top layer forming a point in the front and back. I did up her invisible zipper in the back and turned her around.

"You look absolutely fabulous, Miss Alice," I stated, winking. "Whatever will Jasper think?"

"Probably the same thing that Edward will," she replied with a smirk and a blush. The doorbell rang downstairs and Alice perked up. "That'll be Rose now. Let's go get her." We raced down the stairs in our bare feet and skidded to a stop in front of the door. We opened it and saw, not Rosalie, but Carlisle. He blinked at us. We blinked back.

"Hi, Carlisle," I said sheepishly.

"Hello, Bella, Alice. The boys told me we were going out to dinner," he said with a small smile. "I didn't realize that it was themed."

"Oh, it's not, daddy. We just happened to have…vintage…clothes…." Alice replied, trailing off as she watched Rose get out of her car behind him. "Okay, I guess it's turning out themed for us. The boys are all at Jasper's, dad. Do you know where that is?"

"Of course I do. I'll just be off then. Have fun getting ready, girls." He turned and bowed slightly to Rose as she came up the walk before continuing down the marble steps to his car.

"Who was that, Alice? He was hot!" exclaimed Rose as she entered the foyer.

"That's my dad," Alice laughed as she shut the door. "Now you know where my brother's get their looks. And I love your dress by the way." The dress was a pure white, heavy cotton fabric with a fitted bodice and princess seams. The top of the bodice and hem were trimmed in bright red brasstone studs. The dress, like both Alice's and mine, fell just above her knees, but also had a wide sweep- meaning it was tooled inside the skirt to make it flare. We were all totally fifties.

"Maybe we should give Esme a call…" I said. "We should tell her what to wear."

"If that's her car, too late," Rose said, looking out the window beside the massive French doors. A few moments later there was a knock on the door and Alice opened it eagerly, only to give a little giggle before breaking into laughter.

"Oh, Esme, thank goodness! You look wonderful!" Esme's dress was a classic 'little black dress.' It was curve hugging, with an asymmetrical neckline and plungling back neckline with a draped swag. The waist seam was empire style, with ruching on both side seams. The dress fell, like all the others, just above her knees, and had a rhinestone clasp at the left shoulder. She had an amazing figure for a woman of her age, probably mid forties.

"Thank you. You girls all look marvelous. I guess I was lucky to have this, wasn't I?" she asked with a smile. "When are we leaving?"

"Oh, the boys are picking us up," Alice said. "But I have a feeling they're going to be a little late. That's okay, though. We still have hair and make-up to do." We made our way upstairs to Alice's bathroom, which was a massive marble affair, complete with vanity, chairs, and one of the drying chairs typically seen in salons. "Rose, would you mind getting started on Bella's make-up while I heat up the curler and flat iron?"

"Sure thing. Bella, sit here," she ordered, pointing to the stool in front of the vanity. I picked up another stray _Cosmo_ and proceeded to quiz Rosalie, Alice, and Esme on what kind of mother they'd make. When Rose was done, Alice came over with an array of pins and clips, the curler, and some hair scrunchies. When I was finally allowed to look, I had a cute milkmaid braid with the rest of my hair piled in a loose bun at the back of my head and a teal ribbon tied in a bow holding it up. My make-up was a dark blue that lightened the farther it got from my eyes. I turned to the others.

Alice was busy straightening her hair, making it fall softly over her forehead as she combed it, resulting in a shaggy black bob. Her eye make-up was blue and yellow. Rose had her long blonde hair up in a French twist, a pair of red feathers emerging from the top of it. Her eye shadow was red while her liner was a bold red. Esme had a head of gorgeous brown gold ringlets and her eyes were done in varying tones of silver. We were vintage goddesses.

"Did you hear that?" Rose asked suddenly, cocking her head.

"No. What'd you hear?" Alice's voice was worried.

"Sounded like the door closing downstairs."

"Anyone home?" came a voice from down the grand staircase. We sighed as we recognized it.

"Upstairs!" I yelled back. Victoria emerged at the end of the hallway with a grin on her face.

"I knew you were having a party," she said. "And you know how much I love vintage."

"How'd you know?" I asked, giving her a hug.

"Alice told me. Like the outfit?" she asked, twirling. It was a navy blue sailor style retro dress that clung to her every curve. It was fitted with a short sleeved bodice and sailor collar with satin trim with a double-breasted button down front and pencil skirt. A white belt and matching handbag finished the ensemble.

"It's adorable!" Alice squealed. "I can't wait to see the guy's faces! Did James see you before you left?"

"Nope. I kicked him out of the house," she grinned. "Oh, I haven't been introduced. I'm Victoria," the red head said, stretching out her hand to Esme. "Pleasure to me you."

"And you as well. I'm Esme. I love how you did your hair, by the way." Victoria's hair was slicked into a curling swoop over the right side of her forehead while the rest of her spectacular curls were pinned up in black netting.

"Thanks. It took almost an hour to get this part to behave," she replied, prodding her bangs with a frown.

"Well, it's fantastic. I love it, Aunt Vicky," I said, "Especially the buttons." We all froze as we heard the doorbell, then we all squealed, hugging each other.

"Oh my God, they're here! They're here!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing her purse. "Come on, let's go!" Esme grabbed her arm gently.

"Settle down, Alice. You don't want to be flushed and sweaty when they see you, do you? They can wait another minute while we descend like civilized ladies of fashion." Alice stared up at Esme with adoring eyes, a bright smile on her face. We all slowly proceeded to the door, but stopped on the stairs, each of us on a different step. Alice was first, followed by Rose, myself, Vicky, and then Esme. Our pixie friend pulled her phone out of her clutch and sent a quick text to her boyfriend before stowing it again. She winked up the stairs to the rest of us, then faced forward again as the door opened.

Jasper stepped in, wearing gray slacks and a white dress shirt, a newsboy cap on his blonde waves. Emmett was next, wearing pair of white dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a fitted red vest. Edward was wearing gray dress pants, an ice blue dress shirt, and a gray fedora. James wore a pair of navy blue slacks, a white dress shirt, and navy blue tie- tied loosely. Carlisle was wearing black pants and an embroidered black suit coat and black silk scarf. We smiled at each other…what a party.

"Will you ladies accompany us to dinner tonight?" asked Edward, stepping forward with a slight bow. Alice stepped forward and nodded regally. Jasper took her hand and led her outside, where we heard a gasp, then silence. The men took us one by one, and I gasped when I saw our transportation for the night. It was a carriage, a surrey, to be exact, fit for twelve passengers and drawn by a dozen black Clydesdales.

"Oh, Edward," I breathed to the man on my arm. "It's…it's wonderful."

"It's a gift," he replied. "To thank you and Alice for all of your hard work in the past six months." He leaned down and kissed me gently on the cheek. "And since I'm driving, you get to sit in the box with me." We stopped and he handed me up. I settled my skirts and waited for him to climb up the other side before leaning over and kissing him gently.

"Thank you, Edward. I-"

"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" Edward and I turned to look.

"Emmett, be patient. Carlisle and Esme are still inside," I sighed.

"Wait, you mean Esme's that gorgeous lady at the top of the stairs?" he asked, wide eyed. "When you told me she was the museum's curator I was thinking some wrinkled old lady!"

"I hope I don't have wrinkles," came a tart voice. "I do try to keep myself looking good. And forty four isn't old," she said, climbing daintily into the seat behind the box.

"No it isn't," I heard Carlisle murmur. No, it wasn't at all.


	13. Ambush Time, Baby

"Where are we going?" came Emmett's voice from the back of the carriage.

"You'll see," Carlisle replied, glancing down at Esme. "It's a beautiful restaurant, I'm sure you'll love it."

"I'm sure I will," said Esme shyly, looking down.

"When did you guys plan all this?" Rose asked, caressing the surrey's side. "This couldn't have been a spur of the moment thing."

"No, it wasn't," Edward said, deftly maneuvering the horses around a corner. "I've been planning this since I met Alice's model." He smiled down at me as I looked up at him in astonishment. Carlisle broke in.

"Bella, _you're_ the woman Edward told me so much about?"

"Edward told you about me?"

"He didn't use names, but I…I don't know what I thought, seeing you here, Bella- please don't take offense-"

"No worries, Carlisle."

"As I was saying, I just thought that Alice finally introduced you two," he said sheepishly. "I am certain you make a gorgeous model, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Carlisle," I said, blushing. "I think your son just makes it better."

"Your son!" came the startled gasp from Esme's lips. Carlisle quickly turned and grasped her hands gently. "I thought…"

"I am," he said quietly. "I have been a widower for a long time. Since my oldest two were fifteen…nine years."

"Oh, Carlisle…" Esme's face was sorrowful. "I…I'm so sorry…If you don't mind my asking…"

"How did she die?" The whole carriage was silent. "Breast cancer. Due to the therapy she was undertaking, the radiation caused a stroke. She died peacefully, asleep in my arms. One of her favorite quotes was Winston Churchill's. 'If you're going through Hell, keep going.' I miss her every day." I looked back and saw tears, my own and Esme's.

"M-my son," she whispered, gripping Carlisle's hand tighter. "He died when he was t-twelve…He died of lung cancer…He always told me 'Never, never, never give up'…Winston Churchill…" Carlisle pulled his hanker-chief out of his breast pocket and handed it to her before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I think," he said slowly. "I think that we have a lot to talk about, Esme." She nodded, and the rest of the ride was filled with happier chatter.

We pulled up to a small cottage on the side of the road, perilously close to the edge of the cliff to our left. A man emerged and bowed to Edward and I before climbing into the box and driving the carriage away once we were all out. Carlisle then took the lead and entered the cottage, holding the door open for Esme. The rest of us followed,

The interior was decorated in earth tones, a large, many armed candelabra stood behind the woman at the desk in the center of the room, a door on each side of it. "Who set up this reservation?" she asked, pulling a fountain pen from it's inkwell and looking up in expectation.

"I did," Edward said, stepping forward. "The last name is Cullen."

"And who is the holder of the VIP card?" she asked, neatly jotting down Edward's answer.

"It is I," Carlisle replied this time, presenting a black card with a silver circle on it. The woman took it carefully and examined it before handing it back and flipping a switch on her desk.

"Please take the door on your right and enjoy your dinner," she said with a brilliant smile. We proceeded as directed, all of us confused except Edward and Carlisle, who walked with a purpose and strong steps. We came to another door, next to which stood a tall woman with wide hips and a pretty face. She smiled a dazzling smile and opened the door. We entered a large posh elevator, complete with plush carpet, mirrored sides, and a chandelier. I descended quickly and smoothly.

When the doors opened, two young people greeted us, one holding menus while the other had a tray holding champagne flutes. I realized in a moment that the one with the menus was female and the other male- after I noticed the girl's skirt and heels. She escorted us farther into the room as the boy offered us each a glass. Pushing aside a curtain that was set into the far wall, she smiled and ushered us in. I could not hold in my gasp of wonder. It was a glass pod, the ocean water surrounding us on all sides. The water was lit up from outside, a soft, warm glow emanating from the waves.

Edward led me to a chair and seated me before placing himself on my right. The pretty girl placed a menu before each of us before speaking. Her tone was sweet. "Welcome to Voulturi, does anyone have a drink order before I leave you to peruse your menus?" There were orders for whiskey; Jasper, James, and Victoria, red wine; Carlisle, Esme, white wine; Edward, Rosalie, gin and tonic; Alice. Emmett and I must have astounded our friends and his family, Rakia for him and Lappish Hag's Love Potion for me. The waitress smiled at my order. "We don't get very many orders for that, though it's one of my favorites. My name's Jane, and I'll be taking your order while my brother Alec fetches drinks."

An hour later we were all warm and happy, chatting about things both non-important and otherwise, debating, story telling, and laughing. The three brothers who owned the place came out to join us for a while, and we found that they were all fans of Alice's work, they even had one of her paintings hanging in the common dining room! Of course, then we got onto the topic of her next series and Edward and I were dragged into it.

"Such a wonderful contrast," Aro murmured, eyes flicking between the two of us.

"I can see why Miss Cullen chose you," Marcus added. Caius remained politely silent, nodding slightly when Aro mentioned my figure. Of course I blushed. I didn't think my figure was that great. I mean…it was nice and all, reasonably well proportioned and averagely endowed, I guess…

"Don't think like that, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear, laying his hand on my thigh under the table. I shivered. Alice saw and smirked. Why me?

"So, Bella, did you have fun tonight?" Alice asked me as she unbuttoned my dress. I glared at her smirking face in the mirror.

"Yes, Alice, I had fun."

"Good…did you like the triplets?" Rosalie asked from her perch on the marble counter.

"I thought they were socially awkward," Vicky cut in. I smiled at her. That's how I felt as well. They all seemed to be in their own little world all the time.

"I thought they were interesting," Esme said, to my shock. She laughed at my expression. "You were too caught up in Edward to listen to much of their conversation, but it seems that they are quite the lovers of art…and show extreme talent in critiquing the works."

"They're coming to the gala," Alice burst out, clapping her hands. "They told me they were friends with some higher ups along the art line and said they'd present a few suggestions! How cool is that Bella?" I smiled with her. Alice really deserved this if it was getting to be as big as it sounded. She deserved only the best. I slid out of the dress and pulled on a t-shirt and my jeans. Alice followed my lead and changed into a designer sweat suit. Alice, Rose, and I walked the other two to their cars and watched them drive off. The three of us were going to spend some quality time together…

_In The Kitchen_

"Rosalie! Stop her!"

"Alice, put that down!"

"Bella, I'm going to kill you!"

This was us 'making cookies'. Well, failing at making cookies. It sort of turned into a giant fight with the baking ingredients. At the moment, things were silent as we each hid. I had a cookie sheet as a shield, with a big wooden spoon in the other hand. I knew that Alice had the electric mixer- kind of like a cross between a shotgun and a machine…just shooting chunks of batter instead of bullets. But Rose had the eggs. All six dozen of them…and that worried me. She also had an apron, something neither Alice nor I had had the sense to put on.

I was stealthily sneaking around one side of the island when I saw a Rose across the kitchen staring at a looming shadow on the wall. I caught her eye and we nodded. Ambush time, baby. We heard a quick "_psst!_" and looked up. Alice was on top of the refrigerator next to the kitchen door, where the shadow was coming from. The boys weren't supposed to come home tonight…they were supposed to be spending the night at Jasper's. I felt my heart begin to race. There was someone here who shouldn't be.


	14. Closet Pottymouth and Bathtime

There was a creak from the hallway, and all of us glanced at each other before looking at the door. The shadow was getting closer and larger, and the shape was definitely male. I sucked in a soft breath as Rose ninja-rolled across the kitchen to hide behind the marble island with me as Alice watched us, leaning over the edge of the fridge slightly to see into the hall better. She shook her head at us- she couldn't see him. Rose palmed an egg as I gripped my spoon tighter. The shadow stopped just outside the door before stepping in.

All Hell broke loose.

We didn't know him, so we attacked. Alice turned the mixer on high, the loud noise startling the annoyingly familiar blonde man as batter splattered across his head. Rose and I appeared, she, still taking cover, pelted him with eggs while I, holding my baking sheet up, attacked him with the spoon, bashing him wherever I could reach. I could faintly hear Alice talking to someone from on top of the fridge. I lowered my shield slightly and saw the man's face.

"You fucking bastard! Why the hell are you here, you cock-sucking son of a bitch?" I bellowed, dropping my sheet and beating him harder. "First you fucking sleep in front of my door, you piece of shit, then you follow me to my friend's house? What in Satan's blackest Hell do you fucking think you are doing, you shit-headed cockroach?" I vaguely recall Rose pulling me away as I continued to scream at the young man who had first appeared in my doorway. I finally gave up when my voice grew hoarse and people began filing into the kitchen. Incidentally, some of my father's co-workers from the police station were there, along with the guys. I blinked.

"Bella, you really are a violent little thing, aren't you?" Andy, a deputy laughed. "When I heard your voice on the other end, I figured we didn't really have to rush." The other policeman laughed.

"I didn't know you had those kinds of words in you, little one," Mark, Charlie's second in command murmured, scratching his head. I blushed.

"Yeah, well, I was provoked," I mumbled. The boys were staring at me as Andy and Mark hauled the kid, Mike, away. "What?"

"I'm...just a little afraid of you, Bella," Jasper admitted. "That was kind of scary."

"Wait, you heard all that?" I asked, mortified.

"Alice had you on speakerphone..." Edward chuckled. "But it's true, none of us knew you had that kind of mouth on you." I groaned.

"Alice!"

"Well, Rose and I are the only ones who knew about your closet potty mouth," she laughed. "So I just figured we should fill them in, you know?"

"Oh, Alice, I swear, someday, I am going to kill you. You will die a slow and painful death at my hand," I threatened.

"Well...instead of killing each other, maybe you should all go clean up?" Jasper suggested. We looked down at ourselves. Sure enough, we were all covered in the remnants of our cookie dough fight. Rose and I turned to trudge up the stairs. Jasper was nodding to Alice before she followed us.

"They're going to clean up the kitchen,"she informed us. "Come on, bath time," she chirped, skipping up the stairs. We followed Alice to her personal bathroom and all stripped as Alice filled her massive tub with hot water. We all sank into it with a sigh.

"You know," Rose began, "I've always wanted girlfriends to do this with."

"You've never had any girlfriends?" Alice questioned, pausing in her playtime with her rubber ducky.

"No, I was always too tomboyish, and Bella was too shy," she explained. "Plus, I was busy fixing cars, and she was always busy writing. We never really had time for girlfriends."

"Well, you have me now!" Alice bubbled, damp hair sticking to her forehead. "And we are going to hang out as often as possible!"

"Alright, Alice," Rose chuckled. I smiled, lathering up my hands to wash my hair.

"No, Bella!" Alice cried. "We're all supposed to wash each other's hair!" I sighed and turned slightly, so we were all in a sort of triangle shape and able to reach each other's heads.

"Alice, how did I meet you again?" I sighed rhetorically.

"My dad puked on you," she replied immediately, laughing. We continued our shared bath, scrubbing each other's backs and having rubber ducky races across the tub as we made waves with our hands. Mine won.

"Whoo-hoo!" I yelled, jumping up and posing heroically. Rose and Alice stood up as well, and we were all covered in bubbles. Alice turned the shower on so we could rinse off, and we all took turns laughingly hogging the shower. I heard a choking sound come from behind us and turned. All three boys were sitting in the open doorway, eyes wide.

"What the hell are you bastards doing here?" I shrieked, grabbing Alice and holding her in front of me. "Alice, did you leave the door open?" She gave a weak laugh. I grabbed a heavy shampoo bottle and chucked it at them. "Scram!" They just dodged it and stayed in the doorway. I glanced back and Rose was ducked inside the tub. I vaulted over the side and stalked over to the door angrily, the boys' eyes getting wide. "Get the fuck out," I hissed, slamming the door and turning back to the others. Alice was comforting Rose.

"I'm sorry, I must have left it open a little, it doesn't always close all the way, and sometimes when a door somewhere else opens, there's a draft and all the doors-"

"It's okay, Alice," Rose said softly as I came over and sat on the edge of the tub. "I just...I'm...well, I'm a virgin, Alice, and I haven't let anyone see that much of me, ever!" I rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Well, neither have I, Rose, so we're even, right?" I asked, chuckling.

"You...you haven't had sex? Either of you?" she asked, mouth dropping open. We nodded and looked at her. "You guys are both so fucking sexy all the time, I just sort of figured you'd had _some_ experience!" she gaped. "How do you know what to do to turn guys on so fast?"

Rose blushed and replied, "romance novels and _Cosmopolitan_." I shrugged.

"I don't really try. I never had a reason to."

"Well, you do now!" Alice protested. "You have Edward!"

"We're not having sex any time soon, Alice," I sighed. "And it doesn't matter, really. I think anything I do turns him on." She laughed.

"I don't really want to know about my brother being turned on," she replied, stepping out of the tub and digging in a cabinet for some towels, which she threw at us.

"You paint him with an erection all the time," I pointed out, wrapping my towel around myself. Rose dropped hers.

"What?" Alice and I blinked at her.

"What what?" I asked back.

"She's painted him...with an erection? What kinds of poses are these?" she bellowed.

"It's a nude romance series, Rose," Alice pointed out. "So, all kinds of poses. And he doesn't have an erection in all of them, just some of them." Rose sighed.

"Oh, Bella, I can't believe you've gotten into this."

"Me neither," I grinned, opening the door.

"Wait, Bella, go to Edward's room, kay? And don't dry your hair, yet!" Puzzled, I did as she asked and turned into Edward's room instead. He was spread out on his bed, lying on his stomach with headphones on, and just low hanging sweatpants. I grinned to myself and ran up to him, jumping onto his back, my towel slipping from one of my breasts as I tickled his back. He jerked in surprise. I lifted one of his headphones and murmured into his ear.

"That was really naughty of you to go watching us in the bathtub," I breathed. He sighed.

"The door was open and you were all just...there..." he trailed off, blushing lightly. I chuckled as Alice walked in.

"Well, this looks cozy," she muttered, ruffling her hair. "Bella, sit on the bed in front of Edwards and turn your body sort of sideways. No, just leave your towel around your waist like that," she said as I moved to take it off. She threw Edward a brush. "Edward, you are going to brush her hair out. Kneel behind her, but keep your knees on either side of her." I felt bare knees and looked back at him. He was now completely naked...and semi hard. I blushed softly as he gave me a roguish smile. "What are you waiting for, start brushing!" Alice commanded. He did, and it was like heaven. I wasn't even turned on, it just felt like the most amazing thing in the world. I couldn't remember the last time someone had brushed my hair. I smiled, my eyes closed as my head moved with his strokes. I sighed softly.

"Do you like this?" he asked. I blinked lazily and smiled, 'hn'ing softly in content. If I was a cat, I'd be purring right about now.


	15. Ceramic Armadillos and Lingerie

I whined softly as light hit my eyes, rolling over and nestling my face into a warm body. It smelled familiar, but it felt strange. With a strangled groan I lifted my head and looked at who I was laying on. Alice's stomach was under my head, and she had her legs stretched out across Rose's back, whose feet were tangled with mine beneath the blanket. I looked up at the window, squinting, and rolled my eyes, then dropped my head back down to Alice's stomach. The boys were standing there, looking smug. Why was I the only one who wasn't a heavy sleeper? I heard a soft chuckle and looked back, then immediately covered my ears. Emmett had an airhorn in hand.

"_WHAT THE HELL?" _screamed Rosalie, jerking up, her tank top riding low on her cleavage. Alice just rolled over and glared up at the ceiling.

"Emmett...you know how much I hate that, don't you?" Emmett nodded and lowered the airhorn, scratching his nose. "I'll pay you back, you understand." He nodded, still grinning slightly. I rolled over.

"I swear...I swear, Emmett..." Rose trailed off, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Um, sorry, baby?" he replied. Her eyebrow twitched and I blinked. She hated it when people called her baby. Guess Emmett's an exception.

"It was Emmett's idea," Edward and Jasper said at the same time. I rolled my eyes. Of course it was. Edward approached the bed and lifted me off of it, sweeping me into his arms. I smiled and relaxed in his arms.

"Good idea, you two! Make your way down to the kitchen!" We made it down, and Alice banned Jasper, Emmett, and Rose from the kitchen. I laid down on my stomach on the table, resting on my elbows as Edward sat precariously on the edge of his chair, feeding me off of a small plate in his hand, holding a fork to my lips with the other. "Wonderful." When Alice was almost finished, Emmett decided that he had had enough of being banned from the food and burst into the kitchen, just as I closed my lips around the fork Edward was holding. I looked at him, fork still held between my lips.

"Emmett!"

"You're naked on the table!" Emmett groaned, moving to the fridge. "You had better bleach it before you leave."

"It's not like they're having sex on it," Alice reprimanded.

"It doesn't matter!" re retorted. "Bella's naked lady parts are all over it!"

"Get out, Emmett," Edward sighed as he threw a napkin over my ass. "We can't work with you here."

"Damn right you can't," he snickered, sitting at the island. "So go find somewhere else and clean the table."

"We aren't leaving, Emmett," snarled Alice. "And if you don't leave I'm going to smash your face into your oatmeal, then light it on fire." With a hurt expression, he clutched it to his chest and exited, grumbling.

"Alice, you really don't need to be so mean to him," I sighed with a smile.

"He just does it for attention, Bella, you should know that," Edward said, tapping my nose with the fork.

"I don't see how he could do that all the time though."

"It really doesn't matter," Alice said. "Now get the napkin off your butt and let me finish this, kay?" Rose popped her head in a few minutes later.

"Um, just a quick question. The big ceramic armadillo in the second floor hallway wasn't a family heirloom or anything, was it?" We turned to look at her, and she put her hands up. "I might have kicked Emmett who backed into Jasper, who fell into the table and knocked it down the stairs..."

"Um, no. No, that's fine."

"I'll clean it up, in a roundabout way it's my fault," she said, sticking her tongue out before leaving.

"Why did you have a ceramic armadillo?" I asked.

"It was a present," Alice muttered.

"From one of her ex-boyfriends," Edward snickered. "It was a model of his first pet."

"Shut your trap, Edward," his sister snapped. I laughed. "You think it's funny, Bella, but he wouldn't shut up about this thing! Honestly, that was what ninety eight percent of our conversation was about."

"Why were you dating him, then?"

"His mother was a silk weaver," she replied, sniffing. "I found another one."

"You dated him because his mother was a silk weaver?" asked Edward incredulously. "I didn't know that!"

"You didn't have to-I was the one dating him."

"Alice...are we done yet?"

"I don't understand why you and Edward haven't just screwed each other's brains out yet," Rose said as we sat in our kitchen. I sighed, blushing.

"Rose. We haven't gotten that far yet."

"You've spent every night for the past month in his bed and you 'haven't gotten there yet'?" she repeated. "Have you...tried anything?"

"Not every night! And no, Rose. We spend our time talking and getting to know each other. I don't just want to screw some random guy."

"He's not just some random guy, he's Edward! The man you are posing for naughty naked paintings with!"

"They are not naughty, Rose, they're tasteful and nude," I retorted, sticking my tongue out at her.

"It's pretty much the same thing!" I sighed.

"No, it's not. Edward and I..." I paused. "Edward and I both want a long term relationship with someone special. We _think_ that someone special is us, but we want to be absolutely sure. I mean, honestly, I'm not ready for something massive, like getting married, or having kids, you know?"

"See, Bella- that's exactly what _I_ want. I _want_ to get married and have kids to run around and play with. And I want them soon. But I'm also not just going to have some random jackass's kids, I want someone who will raise them with me."

"So...have sex with Emmett."

"I have but-"

"WHAT? Rose! Was this not important enough to tell your sister? How long has this been happening?"

"Only about a week, but back to you-"

"No, you are telling me how this started. As your sister I have the right to know this, don't I?"

"Oh, guilt me into it, why don't you?" she grumbled. I laughed.

"Go on, sister mine. Spill."

"We went to dinner that night you, Edward and Alice were painting on that boat down at the beach. It was fun, Bella, he took me out for burgers and shakes at that retro diner in town, and there was a car show that night, so we were drooling all over the muscle cars and stuff, and he just pulled me under the neon sign and kissed me."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" I cried, throwing my arms around her.

"I know...but then he brought me over to one of them and told me it was his, and asked if I wanted to go for a drive, so I drove around for a while and we talked, and then we switched places and he drove me up to the cliffs, and we watched the stars as we laid on the hood, and things just picked up from there," she grinned, blushing.

"Wow, who knew Emmett was such a romantic," I said, propping my chin on my fist. "That's super great, Rose. I'm happy for you."

"I'm happy too...now it's your turn, Bella," she laughed.

"I should have known you'd beat me again, Rose," I said, standing and stretching. She looked up at me.

"I hope that doesn't bother you."

"Nah, not really. As long as it's with a guy that you really like, and you're tested and using protection-"

"We both want kids, Bella," she said softly, a small smile on her face.

"Emmett said he's always wanted a big family, and that if I had any of his children, he'd care for them."

"Are you...planning on getting married?" I asked worriedly.

"Well...I'd like to. Bella, he's the best man I've ever met. I could see myself marrying him tomorrow and being happy for the rest of my life."

"I wouldn't let you get married tomorrow," I replied, smiling. "There's not enough time to pull everything together." There was a long silence as I watched my sister smile dreamily out the window.

"Would you marry Edward, Bella?" she asked suddenly. I jerked slightly.

"Well, I suppose if he asked. One day. I'm not going to jump into anything, Rose, especially not something that has potential to completely change my life."

"That's smart. I'm glad one of us is level headed."

"Me too, otherwise we'd both be uneducated and working on corners," I chuckled.

"Are you kidding? I'd start my own brothel or something," she replied, shaking her head in disgust. "And I'd make sure everyone was tested- because I refuse to be the means in which someone picks something up. And my girls would get paid on commission, and there wouldn't be assholes, and there would be consent forms-"

"Alright, Rose, I think I've heard enough about your brothel idea."

"Yeah, people might start thinking I was serious..."

"I almost thought you were serious," I told her.

"But enough about me, tell me about how you're going to proceed with Edward."

"I don't know, I mean, I suppose we're going to keep talking, and just let things happen."

"You can't always just 'let things happen', Bella!" she exclaimed. "Sometimes you have to give things a push!"

"Oh, yes, like what, Rose? He's already seen me naked, so there's no pushing there."

"You need to wear something sexy once in a while," she replied, pulling me out of my chair and towards her room. "I have a couple of things that might fit you."

"No, Rose, that's fine, I really don't need to know what you have in your closet."

"My toys are all in their box and out of sight, so don't freak out, Bella, they're just clothes. Sit," she ordered, pushing me onto the stool at her vanity as she began rummaging through her closet. "I've got some blue stuff, but I think you need to branch out. Here," she said, emerging with a silk and lace bustier. "Try that on and I'll keep digging." I took it, but sat there looking at it for a good ten seconds before blushing hotly.

"Rose! I can't wear this, Alice pretty much watches every time I get naked with Edward!"

"You sleep with him naked, don't you?" was her reply. I had no answer, so I sighed and stripped, then tried it on. It fit, though it was a little snug around the breasts. Rose came out. "I can't believe you have bigger breasts than I do, Bella." I looked down. "We're going to go out tomorrow and get you your own stuff, because as much as I love you, I'm not letting you use my underwear."

"That's-that's perfectly fine, Rose," I said, looking at myself in the mirror. My hip bones and a few inches of my flat stomach peeked out of the bottom of the bustier, and my cleavage was pushed up and nipples barely covered. "I think I need a size bigger."

"Are you kidding, your breasts are the perfect size for that," she retorted. "In fact, you're keeping that one, because I never use it anyway, and I don't want to wear it anymore, because I'll feel inadequate now that I've seen your boobs in it," she laughed.

"I'm sorry, Rose-"

"That's not something to apologize for, Bella," she said, smiling. "Don't worry about it, it's not like my breasts are tiny or anything."

"That's true," I replied, looking back and forth between us. "I never notice mine were bigger."

"Me neither, probably because you're always wearing sports bras."

"They're comfortable," I defended.

"And keep you at least a size smaller than you actually are," Rose added.

"Yeah, but they're still comfortable."

"Isn't that?" my sister questioned. I blushed slightly.

"Well, yeah..."

"Hold on while I get changed," she said, popping back into her closet. She emerged a couple of minutes later in a pale green spaghetti strapped corset top. "We are going to sit in these all night, watch horror movies with the lights on, get only slightly drunk, and talk. To the couch!"


	16. Life Experiences

Rose and I woke sprawled across her large king sized bed to the ringing of her phone. Rose groaned and reached groggily to answer it. "Hello? Oh, hi, Emmett. Yeah, Bella and I were asleep. Who cares if it's noon? Yeah, we have plans today, sorry. Later? No, I should be free then. Okay, talk to you later, babe."

I stared at her as she hung up the phone.

"What?" she asked.

"You called him babe!" I gaped.

"So?" she replied defensively. "I can do that!"

"But you never do that!"

"So?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. We should get dressed and go." We got up and took turns going through the shower and changing, and then we hopped into Rose's BMW and headed for the mall. We pulled into the parking lot and got out, then made a beeline for the lingerie shop.

"Remember what I said, Bella, no blue stuff. You're branching out," Rose said. I shot her a petulant look, and she ignored me. We walked between the rows of silk and satin, lace, mesh, and even a few latex pieces, fingered things we thought would look nice, and pulled things that we'd like to try on.

"Could I interest you in this?" came a voice over my shoulder. I jumped and spun around. A salesgirl was behind me, and she held out a matching bustier and panty set, in a stunning blood red. I fell in love with it instantly. It was a silk and satin bustier, complete with boning, a little bit of lace around the low-cut bust, and a small bow between the breasts. The accompanying boyshorts were the same silky fabric, but had lace down the hips.

"That looks absolutely fabulous," I breathed as I reached out for it. She pulled it away.

"Let's go try it on, then!"

Rose and I left the shop with a variety of pieces, she, a leather camouflage corset, a blue silk underbust corset, a sheer leopard print baby doll/thong set, and a black and hot pink lace up chemise. I came away with the red set, a white silk with black lace bra and panty set, a black silk robe, a bondage-esque teddy, and a simple white satin corset and thong that lifted my breasts very nicely. We were both very happy with our purchases.

"I'm surprised you picked out all that by yourself!" Rose said happily.

"The salesgirl picked out the red one," I replied.

"Well, she picked really well on that one," she said. "It looked great!"

"She was staring at me funny," I complained.

"Does that really matter, Bella?" she asked with a sigh.

"No," I replied. "But she isn't someone I'd necessarily just want to see me in my undergarments."

"Hey, babe," I heard as I answered my phone.

"Oh, hi Edward," I replied with a smile. "What are you up to?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we're going to have a guy's night, tonight, watch some movies, order take out, just have some testosterone time. Maybe you and the girls can do something, too," he said. I heard the smile in his voice. "Have I told you how glad I am that you're friends with my sister?"

"Nope!" I replied as I pulled myself out of the BMW. "But I'm happy I'm friends with your sister." I grabbed my bags from the trunk.

"Well, I'll talk to you later, maybe give you a call between whatever we're doing. Unless you'll be busy," he said, slightly uncertain. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sure I can take five minutes to talk to you, Edward."

"Yeah, well, I guess I'll talk to you later, then."

"Alright, have fun," I said with a smile. He said goodbye, and I followed Rose into the elevator of our apartment building.

"What was that all about?"

"Apparently the guys are having a guy's night," I said offhandedly as I reached for my keys. Rose frowned.

"That's strange, Emmett hasn't said anything to me about it." I looked up.

"He hasn't?"

"No, which is really weird. We've been texting a lot."

I set my bags down on our squishy blue and yellow polka dot chair and put my hands on my hips. I looked at Rose in her pink skinny jeans, white shirt, and blue purse, her pretty, honest face, and then at the clock. "Well, I won't jump to any conclusions. Let's invite Alice over for dinner," I suggested.

"Sounds good," she said with a slight frown. "I still don't know why he wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe he figured that I just tell you?" I suggested as I washed my hands in the stainless steel sink that was in the island of our kitchen. "I think we have some ham in the fridge, if you want to call Alice." I listened to Rose call Alice as I pulled the ham out of the fridge and cut the strings.

"Yeah, you feel like coming over? Bella and I are cooking. Okay, we'll see you in a bit, then. That'd be great, thanks!" She hung up. "Alice has some left over fruit salad that she's bringing. She's the only one that eats it."

"I'm not the biggest fan of fruit salad," I said as I wrinkled my nose.

"Neither am I. But I guess I should eat some anyway..."

"Yes, you should," came a voice from our doorway. Rose and I whipped around. "Oh, don't worry about it. I had a feeling that I should be here tonight, so I came over right away. I got Rose's call in the elevator," she said as she placed the yellow bowl of pink fluffy mush on the table. "What are we making?"

"I was going to slice up ham for salads," I said. "I think Rose was going to hard boil the eggs. If you want to shred lettuce, that would be nice." We all got to work, and when I was done slicing the ham, I moved onto grating the cheese. Alice sliced some carrots, and I pulled some croutons out of the pantry. "Are you almost done with the eggs, Rose?"

"I have to chill and crumble them," she said. "We can talk while they do that, or something."

"I think something's up with the guys," Alice said suddenly. We looked at her. "Jasper hasn't called me at all today, and he hasn't been answering my texts. I went to his house and he wasn't there."

"Emmett hasn't talked to me, either."

"Edward said that they were having a guys' night...but I think they'd have told us if that were actually the case," I said. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who's worry."

"No, I've been worried all day," Alice said as she sat on the couch. I curled up on the squishy chair after moving my lingerie bags, and Rose sat on the opposite end of the couch. "This isn't like them. Like any of them. Usually they're good about telling people where they're going."

"Edward sounded really strange when he called," I said softly. "I thought he was hiding something. But what wouldn't he want me to know?"

"You could try calling him again," Rose said. "I called Emmett three or four times today."

"But we're not even officially dating," I said. "What if he's found someone else? Someone better?"

"Bella, if my brother thinks he's found someone better, I'll go naked for the next year. And make sure he does, too."

"But Alice, really."

"No, Bella, Alice is right. Edward is completely infatuated with you," Rose said seriously. "I haven't seen him not looking at you."

"You haven't? But there's a lot of times when we're together."

"And he's always looking at you," she sighed. "I mean, really, Bella, he's _ALWAYS_ looking at you."

"I'm actually a little jealous sometimes," Alice chimed in as she cracked open a bottle of wine. "Don't get me wrong, I love Jasper, and I love everything that he does for me, but sometimes I want the absolute devotion that Edward has for you."

"You think it's absolute devotion?" I quoted back.

"Bella, that kid would do anything for you." We all sighed and Rose got up to finish the salads. Alice and I picked out a movie, _Limitless_, and sank back into the couch. Rose handed us forks and salads, then set the dressings on the coffee table. "Ooh, I'm glad you picked this! I am in love with Bradley Cooper," she gushed. We all grinned and drowned our lettuce before digging in. We were most of the way through the movie, our dishes in the sink and a new bottle of wine open, when there was a knock on the door. I paused it as Alice got up to open the door. She opened it and shrieked. We leaned around her and gasped. The boys stood there, looking sexy as hell, like strippers.

Emmett was a football player, in tiny shorts, shoulder pads, knee high socks, tennis shoes, and face paint. He was also holding a football. Japser was a cowboy, of course, it only made sense with his accent, wearing chaps and jeans, a hat, and a holster, which had a revolver that he pulled out and swung around his finger with a grin. And Edward was a fireman, complete with fireman's pants, suspenders, and helmet. He carried a length of hose in one hand as he hooked the fingers of the other in his suspenders. I blushed hotly, and I could see Rose and Alice were as well.

"Well howdy, ladies," Jasper drawled as he backed us into the apartment, pointing his (fake) gun at us. "We're gonna have to ask ya'll to take your seats for the show." He indicated that we should sit on the couch, ans we hurried over, giggling, and grabbed our wine off the coffee table.

"Would you look at that, they're half drunk," Emmett grinned. "Makes our jobs a whole lot easier."

"It takes more than that to get us drunk, baby," Rose chirped from her place on the couch as she eyed her man.

"Then I guess we'd better get started," Edward said, dark eyes locked onto mine. Emmett slid a CD into out stereo and 3OH!3's _My First Kiss _blared through the speakers. Alice, Rose and I glanced at each other quickly before the guys brought our attention back to them. Edward and Jasper ran their hands down each other's bare chests while Emmett made some endzone moves behind them. Then he came up and wrapped arms around their waists and pulled them apart. They then started dancing my themselves, and coming closer to us. But we weren't allowed to touch unless they touched us first. And they weren't doing that any time soon.

Jasper stepped up on the table and swung his hips back and forth, eying Alice the whole time. Emmett turned and rolled his hips at Rose, giving her a wonderful view of his ass. Edward leaned over me and stroked his hand down his chest, then reached out towards my face, but didn't touch me. Thankfully our couch was large enough that we were separated far enough that it felt like we wall had our own chairs. Jasper and Emmett leaned over their girls as well, and they all made as if they were going to kiss us. They had obviously choreographed this, because they all leaned forward, straddled us, and rolled their hips in our faces. I leaned back with a hot blush and kept my hands in my lap. I saw that Alice and Rose were having a lot harder times keeping their hands to themselves. Edward smirked down at me, his sexy lips pulled up at the corner.

Suddenly he was in my lap, pressing himself against my stomach as he leaned over me, mouth hovering over mine before he leaned back with another sexy grin and ground himself against me. I could hear Alice next to me, squeaking with delight, and the muttered dirty words coming from Rose. I blushed as I looked up at the redhead above me, and he ran his hands down my arms, and continued his gyrations against my lap. His hands moved from my arms to lightly moving up my chest, before he wrapped one hand around the back of my neck and propped himself against the back of the couch with his other one. His breath was warm on my face, and I leaned up to him. He pushed me back and shook his head.

"Naughty, naughty, Isabella, where's the fire?" he chuckled. I blushed, but didn't pull away. He leaned in again and pressed a light kiss to the side of my mouth, still pressing against my stomach. I let out a breath and he moved to the other side. I let out a soft whine and he chuckled, then finally dropped his lips to mine. His tongue brushed my lips and I opened for him, his tongue slipped past mine and into my mouth, slipping along my tongue and running lightly across my teeth. The music came to an end and all three guys pulled away with matching smirks. Emmett had Roses red lipstick smeared all over his mouth and Jasper's lip was bleeding. I'm assuming that Alice bit him.

I was definitely excited, more so than I should have been, I think, for having had my half naked boyfriend grinding against me in front of my two closest friends, who _also_ had their half naked boyfriends all over them as well. Oh well, life experiences.


	17. Starting Fires

**Quick A/N:** Okay, guys, I've gotten some things saying there's not a lot of structure to this story, and I'd like to apologize about that. I'm trying to fit too many things in at once, and it's not working, so after this chapter, I'll try and sort things out and get back to that little thing called 'plot.'

ALSO- I jump around a lot in time, and I don't think I made that clear. Sometimes I wanted months to go by and forgot to mention that part, so it seems like it's all happened in a few weeks. Nope, it's spread out. I try and be humorous, but if that's not working, let me know.

PS-I'm writing this in my spare time (like a lot of us do) and sometimes it takes me months to come back to, so I forget where I was going with things. And I'm doing this for fun more than anything else, because I want you guys to have something to read, and I'm not going to be over-the-top picky about too many things. Thanks!

I don't know if I've said this, but whatever. THE CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME.

I'm on a roll guys.

Have a lemon.

**CAUTION: LEMONY CHAPTER**

The boys helped us up off the couch, we were all flushed and happy, and surprised that they had showed up, especially like they were. They pulled us over to the kitchen, and Emmett picked up a bag that he had left by the door. He opened it, and there were platters of sushi and a dish of strawberries. So far, this was turning into a very good night. The boys sat down, and we sat on their laps. Edward knew my favorite sushi, and held it up to my lips. Spicy California rolls. Yum. Jasper was feeding Alice strawberries, while Rose had straddled Emmett and was pressing strawberries against his lips.

"Mmm, want more, baby?" she hummed. He grunted in appreciation, and leaned forward to suck on her fingers. I pulled away slightly.

"Rosie, if you're going any farther, take it to your room," I teased. Edward leaned forward and took the lobe of one of my ears into his mouth and suckled gently. I moaned softly, and he held another piece of sushi up to my mouth.

"Oh, we will," she replied, giving her boyfriend a sultry smile.

"And I think that Jasper and I are going to head back to my place," Alice giggled.

"Actually, baby, I think we're going to take a ride," Emmett rumbled. Rose slid off his lap and pulled him towards the door, grabbing her shoes on the way out. Alice and Jasper followed them, Alice had Jasper's gun and was twirling it around her finger.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow," Alice grinned, throwing a suggestive glance over her shoulder at me. I blushed and she shut the door behind us. I looked up at Edward from under my lashes, blushing. He grinned down at me.

"Ready for a private show, sweetheart?" he asked, voice low. I blushed and looked down. He lifted my chin and kissed me softly, then lifted me off his lap and put me back on the bar stool. I leaned back against the island and watched him as he stood back. "I hope you don't mind that I don't use music," he whispered. I shook my head and continued watching him. He nodded and ran his hands down his body, then back up over his ribs, rested on his nipples for a moment, then slid one of his suspenders off over his shoulder and dropped it down to his side.

He swung his hips around in a slow circle, ran a hand through his hair and dropped his other hand down to the front of his pants. I bit my lip as I watched him, squirming slightly in my seat. Edward glanced at me, head tilted back, and licked his lips seductively. He took the hand from his hair and slowly slid his other suspender off, then flicked the button on his pants. He stood back and lifted one foot to the coffee table and thrust his hips at me before he bent over and pulled his boot off, followed by the next one. He shimmied slowly towards me and grabbed his fire hose off the back of the couch, then slung it around my neck as he lowered his hands to his hips. One of them rose back up to his chest while the other started to slowly push his pants down his hips. I sucked my lower lip into my mouth and bit into it as I watched him reveal more and more of his happy trail, and dip into the vee between his hip bones.

He was wearing black boxer briefs under his pants, and as he stepped out of them, he moved towards me, swinging his hips before he settled them against me. _Oh, god, I'm getting a lap dance from my boyfriend._ I blushed hotly, but looked up at him as he took one end of the hose in each hand and slid it down my back to pull me closer and closer, until our lips were almost touching before he pulled back and ground his hips against me again. I let out another soft moan and he growled softly, wrapping the hose around my torso and binding my arms to my sides. He continued to dance slowly on my lap, running his nose up my neck and fingers along my spine. I groaned as I tried to move against him, but each time I tried, he moved away with a smirk. I just wanted to touch him!

"Edward," I sighed as he pressed a hot kiss to the underside of my jaw.

"I bet you're burning up, aren't you, Bella?" he asked. "I bet you have a _hot, hot fire_ between your legs." His breath was ghosting across my ear, and I squirmed with moan.

"You should know, you're the one who set me on fire in the first place."

"Ah, ah, my job is to put them out, not start them," he whispered. "And I'd be more than happy to help."

"Then please do," I murmured as he tugged tighter on the hose around me. It pressed my breasts up, and I saw Edward smirk.

"I might just have to fan the flames a little more," he chuckled as he ducked down to nip down my sternum. I groaned again and writhed against him.

"No...!" I whined. He looked up, a gleam in his eye.

"No? Am I mistaken about the fire?" He raised a brow and I shook my head. "I thought not. I _am_ the professional here," he smirked as he thrust himself lightly against my stomach. I struggled fruitlessly against the binding hose while Edward tortured me. He finally leaned down and wrapped his arms around me, then unwound the hose and draped it around me neck. "How about we head to your bedroom, you arson," he grinned.

"Well, I had to get you here somehow," I teased with him. He carried me easily into my room and set me down on the floor before throwing himself on the bed, facing me. I blushed. What was I supposed to do?

"Your turn, babe." I couldn't believe it. _My turn? Oh, HELL no._ "And you can't deny me," he grinned, leaning back on his elbows. I could see his erection making itself known through his briefs. "Or else we'll both be taking cold showers."

"Oh, that's a low blow, Edward," I replied, crossing my arms and raising a brow at him. "You can't _make _me do anything in my own apartment."

"Maybe not, but I _can_ convince you to," he said, sitting up.

"How do you propose doing that?" I asked, leaning forward so our noses were almost touching. He kissed me softly, then leaned back again.

"Well, I noticed how much you liked being held by my hose," he started. "I could use it again. Or..."

"Or what?" I asked.

"Or I might just have to give you a good, hard, spanking." I felt heat drench my panties, and I made direct and deliberate eye contact with him, then slid my hand up my sides slowly, taking my shirt with it. Edward leaned back on his elbows, but kept his eyes trained on me. I dropped the shirt again and heard a soft hiss of disappointment from him, and smiled to myself. I turned around and bent over, and felt my jeans clinging tightly to my ass as I pulled off one ankle sock at a time. I stood up slowly and dragged my shirt with it again, this time lifting it over my head. I shook my hair out and felt it fall down my back and over my breasts. I was wearing the white silk bra and panties with black lace that I had gotten earlier. I heard Edward gasp slightly, and saw him gently palming his erection.

I flicked open the button on my jeans and pulled the zipper down, tooth by tooth, swaying my hips gently back and forth as I did. I inched the waistband of my pants down, then backed up and turned around so he got my back and pulled them down slowly, bending over again so that I could slide the denim down each leg and off each foot. Edward's groan was definitely louder this time, and I turned towards the bed, then leaned over it, one hand on either side of his knees.

"Was that...hot enough for you, Mr. Firefighter?" I breathed.

"I still think you're overdressed," he replied. "You don't see me wearing a shirt, do you?" I stepped back and reached behind me with one hand, flicked the clasps open, and pulled it off my arms, dropping it next to me. I cocked a hip and stared down at him. He leaned up on one elbow and grabbed my wrist, then pulled me roughly over his knee. I shuddered in excitement. He knew that. "I think you've been a bad girl, letting your fire spread like it has," he murmured, rubbing my ass lightly with one hand as the other held my shoulders to the bed. I moaned softly.

"That just won't do. I want to _hear_ you, Miss Swan." He tugged my panties down my legs until they hung off one of my ankles, and I wiggled beneath his hands, feeling his erection pressing against the junction of my thighs. "No moving," he ordered, delivering a stinging slap to my rear. I moaned louder. "You're almost there, you naughty girl," he whispered. "I'll just have to punish you. For arson." He gave me two more swats, rubbing gently between each one. "And for questioning me when I told you to strip." He gave me three more, and I moaned his name with each one. He slid a finger lightly along my crack and brushed against my sex. I jerked, never having had anything but my own fingers and toys there. He gave me two more spanks. "I said not to move." He slid his finger back down, and I felt him coating his fingers with my copious wetness. I moaned softly and clutched the covers of my bed. He trailed them back and forth, exploring the outside of my pussy slowly.

"Please, Edward," I moaned, rubbing myself against him. He hissed and swatted me one last time before flipping me over and throwing me up on the bed. He followed me with a soft growl and grabbed my thighs before he dove between my legs. I let out a harsh breath and moaned as I felt his tongue move against my opening in long, slow licks. "Oh, god, oh," I breathed, eyes closed as I pressed myself closer to his face. I could feel him smile against me before he thrust his tongue inside of me. I jerked slightly and he hummed against me. "Edward..." I moaned. "More, please." He obliged by sliding one finger into me slowly, curling it upward into just the right spot. I gasped and my eyes flew open as I looked down at him. He was already looking up at me, his usually pale eyes dark with desire. He hit the spot again, and I fell back. He added another finger, and I moaned as he started to move faster as he leaned up to suck gently on my clit and the top of my slit.

"You make wonderful noises," he murmured against me before he reattached his mouth to me. He slid a third finger in and twisted, then pounded quickly against me. I felt my orgasm coming quickly and I bucked against his face as he flicked his tongue quickly against my clit. I came with a cry as he pulled it into his mouth and scraped against it with his teeth.

"Edward!" I cried, jerking up from the bed, shuddering. He brought me down slowly, laving gently licks across my slit to soothe me. I lay there panting as he crawled up next to me. He was still wearing his underwear.

"I think you're the one wearing too much now," I said as I grinned down at him, seeing his cock twitch under the fabric. I reached down and tugged at the cloth, and he lifted his hips to help me. I pulled them down his legs and off, then turned my attention back to his hard-on. I had never touched a man before, hell, his was the only one I had seen in person. I brushed my fingers across his head, then trailed them down his shaft. Edward grunted softly, and I circled him with my fingers, then ran them up and down him slowly, tightening near the base.

"Ah, yeah, Bella, keep doing that." I looked up at him. His eyes were closed as he leaned back on his elbows, panting softly. I grinned and brought my hand up again to play with his slit, then brushed his pre-cum along his shaft, twisting slightly against his silky length. I could hear him panting heavily, and finally he pulled my hand away. "Bella, I'm going to cum if you keep doing that." I pouted at him.

"Isn't that the point?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"Only if you don't want to go any farther tonight." He leaned up and kissed me softly. "We can wait if you aren't ready." I smiled down at him, then reached over to my bedside table and pulled out one of the small foil squares there. Edward looked at it questioningly. I blushed slightly.

"Rose gave them to me a few weeks ago," I said in explanation. He nodded, then ripped open the package and handed it to me. I blushed again but pinched the tip and rolled it on to him. Edward gently pushed me down and leaned over me, then gave me a searing kiss.

"You'll tell me to stop if I'm hurting you?" he asked softly, eyes searching mine. I smiled and nodded, then leaned up and kissed him again. He grabbed my hands and pressed them into the bed as I wrapped my hips around his waist. He nudged my entrance slowly before pressing in. I let out a small breath and looked up at Edward. He was looking down at where we were joined.

"Edward," I stopped him. "You do know I'm a virgin, right?" I asked softly. He looked down at me with slightly alarmed eyes.

"You are? I mean, I figured, but-" he babbled. I giggled and leaned up to kiss him.

"I just wanted you to know. Now keep going," I ordered playfully. He smiled and eased himself farther into me. I still didn't feel any pain, and I pressed against him. He leaned down and kissed me before giving one more solid thrust and breaking through my virginity. It twinged a little, but nothing overwhelming. I raised my hips against him, and moaned softly. "God, Edward, move," I hissed as I looked up at him. He looked down at me, then pulled out and shoved himself back into me, gripping my hands tighter as he ducked his head and suckled at my neck, then dragged his lips down to my breasts. I moaned and bucked against him as he continued his movements, slow, hard thrusts. I threw my head back and pressed it into the mattress as I pulled against his hands and raised my hips to meet each thrust. "Nnng, Edward," I breathed. "Faster, please." He looked up at me, one of my nipples still clamped in his mouth before he changed his rhythm, pounding into me quickly, with shallow thrusts, in and out of my channel.

I managed to free one of my hands and I reached up and tangled it in his silken locks, panting as he moved his mouth to my other breast. I moaned as he changed pace again, this time hard and fast and deep as well. He was hitting all the right spots and I gripped his hair tighter, grunting his name with every thrust. He moaned mine as he let go of my nipple and used his free hand to flick against my clit. I gasped and clenched around him, and he hissed in return. I pulled his head down to mine by his hair and kissed him hard, my tongue tangling with his as his thrusts became erratic and more insistent. His thumb moved faster and harder against my clit and I came against him. I could feel myself clenching rapidly around his member as I moaned his name loudly, hand clenching his hair tightly. "E-Edward!" I cried. He called my name a moment later and collapsed, panting.

"Oh, god, Bella, if you hadn't have told me you were a virgin, I never would have believed it," he murmured, kissing the side of my head. I turned it to look at him.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked softly.

"You were fantastic," he clarified. "It was wonderful."

"I think so too," I smiled. I twitched my hips. He was still inside me, though much softer than before. He groaned slightly.

"Ung, Bella, keep that up and we might have to go another round," he said with a wink.

"Well, maybe I'll have to start another fire first."


End file.
